LAJATICO, THE HOME TOWN OF TENOR ANDREA BOCELLI

Visiting Lajarico, Tuscany

Tina Picotes and her friends are visiting Lajatico, a beautiful town near Pisa where singer Andrea Bocelli was born. Tina loves opera and visiting Lajatico is a good opportunity to discover the origins of one of the most amazing and beautifu voices around the world nowadays.

Lajatico is a comune in the Province of Pisa, Tuscany, located about 50 kilometres southwest of Florence and about 40 kilometres southeast of Pisa. Lajatico sits in mainly hilly terrain at variable elevations from 100 to 650 metres above sea level and dominates the end of the Valdera valley and the opening of the valley known as Val di Cecina.

La Sterza, one of its hamlets, is the natural door between these two geographical areas. The Sterza, Era, and the Ragone rivers form natural borders, placing Lajatico in a very central position to reach Tuscan cities and seaside resorts.

Tina Picotes visits Teatro del Silenzio, Lajarico

Lajatico is, however, best known as the home town of tenor Andrea Bocelli. His annual concerts at the Teatro del Silenzio are attended by people from all around the world, every year.

Lajatico has the following hamlets associated with it: Orciatico, an ancient small medieval village; San Giovanni di Val d'Era; and La Sterza. Another small locality is Spedaletto, a stomping ground of Lorenzo de' Medici. Lajatico borders the following municipalities: Chianni, Montecatini Val di Cecina, Peccioli, Riparbella, Terricciola, Volterra.

Lajatico, as the suffix atico indicates, is of Lombard origins (c. 7th century AD), but the first settlements are much more ancient. Archaeological evidence suggests, a funeral stone, some urns, and terracotta vases that the village is Etruscan in origin.

The first written document mentioning Lajatico dates from 891. From then on, the Castrum Ajatici was property of the powerful Pannocchieschi family of Elci.

More information: Andrea Bocelli-Teatro del Silenzio

In 1139, Ranieri Pannocchieschi gave to the Bishop of Volterra, Adimaro Adimari, his property stretching to Lajatico and neighboring areas. In 1161, another part of Lajatico was given to the Bishop of Volterra, until Bishop Ildebrando Pannocchieschi, due to a Papal Bull of August 1186, took over the political jurisdiction.

In 1202, Lajatico and part of Volterra came under the influence of Pisa until 1284, when Pisa was defeated by Genoa in the Battle of Meloria.

Jordi Santanyí visits Lajatico, Tuscany

At the end of the hostilities, Lajatico came back to the Bishop of Volterra, who brought it, together with Orciatico, Pietracassia and other castles, under the jurisdiction of the city of Florence, which held it until the peace of Fucecchio, in 1293.

Aside from 1362, when Florence occupied Lajatico for a short time, and kept it under the jurisdiction of Pisa until 1406, when Pietro Gaetani, a Pisan noble who decided to sell out his native land, and gave the castles of Lajatico, Orciatico and Pietracassia to the Florentines.

In 1434, the Florentines demolished not only the walls of the town, but also the wall and towers of the surrounding villages, to punish their inhabitants for their submission to Niccolò Piccinino, condottiero under the Visconti of Milan.

In 1664, the same castles with their territories were ceded as a marquisate to the Corsini until 1776, when Lajatico annexed the municipality of Orciatico. 

In 1869, it also annexed part of the territories belonging to the municipalities of Montecatini and Volterra.

More information: Visit Tuscany

Andrea Bocelli (born 22 September 1958) is a Tuscan singer, songwriter, and record producer. Céline Dion has said that if God would have a singing voice, he must sound a lot like Andrea Bocelli, and David Foster, a record producer, often describes Bocelli's voice as the most beautiful in the world.

Andrea Bocelli

He was diagnosed with congenital glaucoma and became completely blind at age 12, following a soccer accident.

Since 1982, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo studio albums of both pop and classical music, three greatest hits albums, and nine complete operas, selling over 90 million records worldwide.

He has had success as a crossover performer, bringing classical music to the top of international pop charts.

In 1998, Bocelli was named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. In 1999, he was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards. The Prayer is his duet with Celine Dion for the animated film Quest for Camelot which won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. 

He captured a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records with the release of his classical album Sacred Arias, as he simultaneously held the top three positions on the US Classical Albums charts.

Bocelli was made a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2006 and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 2 March 2010 for his contribution to Live Theater.

More information: Andrea Bocelli

A career is like a house: it's made of many bricks,

and each brick has the same value,

because without any one of them, the house would collapse.

Andrea Bocelli