Montecatini

Montecatini, two much-frequented mineral baths of Tuscany, Italy. (I) Montecatini in Val di Cecina, in the province of Pisa, 5 m. W. of Volterra. Pop. (1901), 5009. The water is saline, with a temperature of 78.8° F. There are copper mines, which have been worked since the 15th century, 1358 ft. above sea-level. (2) Montecatini in Val di Nievole, in the province of Lucca, 7 m. W. by S. of Pistoja, 105 ft. above sealevel. Pop. (1901), 3048 (Bagni di Montecatini); 2856 (Montecatini). The springs, which number ten, are saline, and range in temperature from 82.4° to 86° F. The water is both drunk and used for bathing by some 40,000 visitors annually, and is exported in bottles. There is also a natural vapour bath (80°-95° F.) in the Grotta Giusti (so-called from the satirist Giuseppe Giusti, a native of the place), at Monsummano near by, discovered in 1849. Another attraction of the place is the gardens of Collodi. At the town of Montecatini, on the hill above (951 ft.), the Florentines were defeated by Uguccione della Faggiuola of Pisa in 1315.