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Ancien castrum of the Counts Guidi
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| The village of Soci is
located in a fertile plain that widens around the
Archiano torrent. The area appears to have been frequented in Roman times as suggested by the etymology of its name and a few traces of Roman land division found in the surrounding country. A gateway and a tower show that a fortified village was built here in the early 11th century. And indeed, we find Soci mentioned as a castrum when it was donated by the Guidi family to the Monastery of Camaldoli in 1079. From that date on, for nearly three centuries, the fief of Soci would remain under this congregation, as did much of the surrounding territory. The Camaldolese monks realised hydraulic works in this area, building the Berignolo canal, whose waters would provide the basis for all its economic activities. We know that from the Middle Ages, waters channelled from the Archiano fed a number of mills and were used for domestic purposes and irrigating the fields. As time passed, various activities sprang up along the canal: grist mills, fulling mills, a paper mill, a public wash-house, a tiny hydroelectric station. As at Stia, however, wool processing became the main activity. During the 19th century the monks' fulling mills were sold and as early as 1848 Soci had its own wool mill, which soon became one of the most important in the Grand Duchy. |
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 © Photo: Andrea Barghi |
From then on, textile manufacturing, especially from the 1920s, characterised the social and economic life of the town, which was dubbed "little Prato". |
| A cooperative still
produces woollens today, and the factory, which has been
remodelled considerably, continues to participate in the
life of the community. Outside of town, in the direction of Badia Prataglia, the Camaldolese Congregation runs the Mausolea, a farm building that goes back to the 17th century and is still the site of agricultural activity and an old wine-cellar. Further along, on the outskirts of Pırtina, a farmhouse contains a few architectural elements that belonged to the old Pieve di Santa Maria, perhaps one of the biggest in the Casentino district to judge by the size of its parish, which took in both sides of the valley. Continuing on towards Camaldoli we come to the village of Serravalle, a summer resort on a rocky spur overlooking the Archiano valley. The massive quadrangular tower was built in 1188 by the abbey of Badia Prataglia and the bishop of Arezzo to check the growing power of the nearby complex of Camaldoli. |
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