Patron saint festival
Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel
📅 Every year, on 29 September
On 29 September Orciano Pisano celebrates Saint Michael the Archangel; with just over 600 inhabitants, it is one of Tuscany's smallest municipalities.
The hills around Orciano are one of the most important places in Tuscany for fossils: in the Pliocene the sea was here, and sharks, seals, dolphins and whales have stayed in the clay. In 1900 the almost complete skeleton of a fossil seal was found here, the Pliophoca etrusca, still the reference specimen for the species. And in 2006 came to light that of a whale ten metres long, which lived three million years ago: around its bones was a fauna that fed on its fat, a small world living without light.
The name appears in 765 as Ursiano and means «Ursius's land»; «Pisano» was added in 1862 so as not to confuse it with Orciano di Pesaro. In the arms there is an oil jar, an orcio, echoing the name and recalling the local farm produce. On 14 August 1846 the village was the epicentre of a strong earthquake, which claimed lives.
🎉 Festivals and feasts in Orciano Pisano 1
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Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
Near Orciano Pisano
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Places to see within 25 km
Outside Orciano Pisano, but an easy day trip away.
Castellana Caves 📍 Castellana Grotte · 1.8 km A 3,348-meter karst cave system mapped in 1938, noted for its 60-meter-deep skylight and dazzling white formations. Santuario di Maria Santissima Regina del Mondo 📍 Monopoli · 6.4 km The sanctuary in the Antonelli district of Monopoli, rebuilt as a vow for the town's safety and consecrated in 1950. Rione Monti 📍 Alberobello · 13 km The 1,030 trulli of Alberobello's larger quarter, laid dry-stone to dodge a tax. Trullo Sovrano 📍 Alberobello · 12 km With walls reaching 2.70 metres in thickness, the Trullo Sovrano is the supreme example of dry-stone architecture. Fondazione Museo Pino Pascali 📍 Polignano a Mare · 13 km Puglia's only permanent contemporary art museum, set in a former slaughterhouse overlooking the sea in Polignano. Chiesa di Sant'Antonio Abate 📍 Fasano · 17 km The Observant friars' church in Fasano, with its dome, onion-spired bell tower and frescoed 1600s cloister.