Grassina, or more precisely Tegolaia refers back to a village on the banks of the river Ema.

	Washerwomen at work

In the last century, the two names Tegolaia and Grassina had always been kept carefully separated.
The former, "Tegolaia", originally gave name to a piece of land on the right hand side of the river Ema where a few houses and a little church dedicated to Arcangel Michel, were situated.
In the past Grassina was the name given to torrent and to a few isolated houses the name later.

	The typical village of first '900

In the past Grassina was the name given to torrent and to a few isolated houses the name later. The name "Grassina" was given to a small village that had grown on the left-hand side of the torrent at the confluence of the river Grassina with the river Ema.
The small population of artisans and kiln-workers starting from the middle of the l9th century began to grow and started to use the water from its torrents. The rich and noble Florentines would send to Grassina their washing to be cleaned. Then the Piedmonteses during the period that Florence was the capital started to use Grassina's washerwomen, and after the hotel keepers also used them...
This is how Grassina because as we can see in the famous many irnages circulating at the end of the l9th century: the candid white sheets and tableclothes spread out to dry in the sun was a sight that could be enjoyed till not long ago.