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The village

The first records of Serra date back to 1040AD where it is mentioned as the fortress of the Counts Alberti di Capraia. It was subsequently given to the Pistoians at the end of the 13th Century and was destroyed in 1327 but was soon rebuilt. When wandering around the old town you soon discover the particular nature of its urban-planning that develops along the crest of the mountain, with a road that joins the two old gates that can still be seen in the walls. Within the fortified centre is St. Leonard’s. In the church tower (that was originally a guard tower) is the old castle gate, and above it one can still see the old Medicean coat of arms in the stone. The site where the Furfalo parish church was built is of particular interest, as it is one of the eldest in the Pistoian area, and its ruins can still be seen in the woods between Serra and the Nievole Valley.

St. Leonard’s Church

This was originally a Castle church. After 1327, when Serra castle was destroyed by troops led by Castruccio Castracani, the old church was enlarged. St. Leonard’s also performed baptisms from the 15th Century but it was only in 1651 that it was raised to the rank of Parish church. The stone façade contains a gate above which is a transom; this transom contains a jutting frame and traces of a bas-relief decoration dating back to the 15th Century. The bell tower on the right hand side of the church has a small staircase at its base and was built using a pre-existing tower in the castle walls in which the town’s main gate can still be found. The walls of the bell tower contain double lancet windows, decorated by capitals with the Medicean coat of arms. The inside of the church develops transversally with respect to the entrance. This space is sub-divided into three knaves by full arches resting on columns, with capitals sculpted in different periods; unlike the other Romanic churches in the Pistoian Apennines, the single apse has a regular semi-circular shape.

The organ

The church is host to a very important organ. The modern reconstruction of the instrument by organ-maker Glaco Ghilardi was a long and difficult task. The old organ in the Pieve di Serra (Serra Parish Church) was built by Agati in 1780. Today we can only use the front portion of the old organ, superbly restored and embellished with splendid hand-carved frescos by the Luccan craftsman Oreste Paradisi and completed, in the main body, by the Luccan carpentery Grisafi.

The old St. Andrew’s Church at Furfalo

This parish church can be traced back as far as 998AD, and is one of the oldest in the area. Some researchers say that the origins of the baptismal church can be placed in a context of Eastern missionaries who founded new centres of worship in Italy between the 6th and 7th Centuries to compensate for the lack of many Bishop’s seats. Dedicated to the Apostle Andrew, who is particularly worshipped in the Christian East, it was built to fulfil the needs of a population that had lost their parish church due to the war that saw the Byzantines fighting the Longobards. The Pieve enjoyed long years of splendour that culminated in the early 14th Century with its appointment as a Collegiate Church. It was destroyed in 1327 during the siege of the castle by Castruccio Castracani. Only the ruins of this important structure now remain, and these are still visible in a wood between Serra and the Nievole valley.