Characteristic Features @ Tourist information about the region of the Florence`s Mountain
Characteristic Features of the Mountain of Florence - The area has been inhabited since very ancient times; Etruscan traces have in fact been discovered on Monte Falterona and at Frascole, close to Dicomano. The human presence was intensified during the Roman and Mediaeval periods, with the introduction of administrative districts, the Roman colonies being followed by the mediaeval parishes, creating a capillary organisation which can still be easily read within the territory. After a period in which it was the stage for bloody struggles for supremacy between the local nobles such as the Guidi and the Ubaldini families, in the fifteenth century the entire area passed into the hands of
Florence after which it shared the city`s destiny.
Dicomano
The artistic heritage of the Montagna Fiorentina is rich and of considerable interest: churches lost in the depths of the countryside, castles, enchanting villas and austere abbeys punctuate the landscape, extending a strong invitation for an unhurried visit. The recent tendency to set up small museums of sacred art, as vital here as it
is in other areas of the province of
Florence is an indication of intelligent far-sightedness on the part of the authorities concerned with the conservation and valorisation of the artistic heritage. Displaying the works of art within the district, and in some cases in the very structures for which they were commissioned and executed, goes some way towards remedying the widespread despoiling of the countryside perpetrated, for various reasons, over past centuries. In these museums, alongside the production
of minor figures, some of them unknown to the greater public, we often have the opportunity of encountering the work of some great master.
A region of such ancient origins cannot fail to offer multiple forms of traditional craft activities, which are still alive and appreciable. We can admire the skill of stonemasons producing works in carved stone, blacksmiths who devote themselves to artistic wrought iron, carpenters creating traditional-style furniture, the weavers of chair-seats and straw coverings for bottles, potters, coopers and stucco decorators. But it is undoubtedly in the sphere of food and wine that the production of the Montagna Fiorentina excels: wine and oil in the first place, but not forgetting cheeses, honey, fruit and vegetables of exceptional
quality. The district is traversed by the routes of two Wine Roads: the
Chianti Rufina e Pomino, touching on the municipalities of Pontassieve, Pelago, Rufina, Londa and Dicomano, and the
Chianti dei Colli fiorentini Wine Road, which interests those of Pelago, Pontassieve and Reggello. There are a host of initiatives dedicated to wine and vines, such as the Toscanello d`Oro fair in Pontassieve and the Bacco artigiano in Rufina, and there is even a Museo della vite e del vino, with its premises in the villa of Poggio Reale in Rufina. Oil too plays a fundamental role in the economy of the area; there are numerous oil-mills, some of which can be visited, and the oil from the hills of Reggello and the Val di Sieve is undoubtedly one of the best in the world in terms of flavour and organoleptic qualities. There are also important events devoted to the local oil, such as the Reggello extra-virgin olive oil fair and the new oil festival in Pontassieve. Among the numerous
agricultural products worthy of a special mention, we cannot fail to recall the beans, especially the local coco and zolfino varieties, which draw their incomparable flavour and consistency from the soil of the slopes of Pratomagno; the chestnuts, particularly those grown in the territories of Dicomano, Londa and San Godenzo which boast the I.G.P. (Protected Geographical Indication) Marrone del
Mugello certification, and the flavoursome "Regina di Londa" white peach. And then there are the cheeses, predominantly sheep`s milk; the honey, the traditional sausages and salamis,
such as the bardiccio, to be savoured grilled, and the fragrant finocchiona, as well as the excellent locally-bred beef.
.... from Montagna fiorentina ( Apt -
Florence )
