Porciano

Many different and often contrasting theories have been developed over time regarding the origins of the name of the place. According to the famous linguist and glottologist Silvio Pieri, author of Toponomastica della Valle dell'Arno, the name Porciano might derive from a Latin gens, the gens Porcia, an element which seems to confirm the theories made over the presence of an ancient Roman settlement in this area of the Montalbano in the past. Guido Cerboni, an expert of Porciano's history, expresses the same idea in his book Porciano di Lamporecchio: dalla storia alla cronaca, dall'arte alle tradizioni. The name of the town might have been inspired by the name of an ancient Roman commander, Porzio (or Porcius in Latin), who became the lord of this territory which was probably given to him by the emperor as a reward and prize for great military actions, or which he might have simply obtained by inheritance after his family bought it. Cerboni also presents another interesting hypothesis on the origins of the name "Porciano": the name could have been given to the area by the Counts Guidi, rich and powerful lords from Casentino, who apparently extended their authority also over the present-day Porciano between the tenth and the eleventh century. Porbably for personal pride and affection for Casentino, or maybe ven struck by the many similarities between the landscape of Porciano and the one of their homeland, they decided to give the area the same names of their two Casentinian

The term "quercia" in Italian meaning oak, the name clearly referred to the many trees and forests which characterize the place. The switch from the name Querciano to the name Porciano might have been linked to the event of the deforestation of the land around the year 1000, when the forests were reduced to create more land for agriculture. Historically, Porciano is mentioned as a part of the town of Lamporecchio in the Liber Focorum of 1226. However, many facts regarding Porciano (even though they have been expressed by many authors) are not supported by accurate historical documents. For example, due to the absence of precise documents, it is impossible to confirm that the Villa de Runcho, given to the Bishop of Pistoia in 998 by Ottone III, really stood in this area. Furthermore, there are no concrete documents to prove that Porciano might have been, as mentioned above, part of the lands under the authority of the Counts Guidi, although this is probable
(Taken from "Percorsi nella storia e nell'arte di un paese del Montalbano - Lamporecchio " di Valerio Bonfanti editor C.R.T.)