Tourist information about the region of the Florence`s Mountain
Visit Itinerary of the Mountain of Florence - An itinerary mapped out to explore this land rich in nature and art might unwind along the course of the Comano and Sieve rivers, starting from the slopes of Monte Falterona, and ascending along the hills which link the Val di Sieve to Pratomagno and the upper valley of the Arno. This would lead us through all seven municipalities which make up the mountain community of the Montagna Fiorentina.
Reggello
Famous for the meeting between the exiled Ghibellines and the white Guelphs held here in 1302, which was also attended by Dante,
San Godenzo is set amidst dense chestnut woods in an elevated, panoramic position. The abbey of San Gaudenzio, dedicated to the hermit who apparently lived in this area in early Christian times, was founded around 1029 and houses, among other things, an Annunciation attributed to Franciabigio. The territory of San Godenzo is of enormous environmental value, and the village of Castagno d`Andrea, the birthplace of the famous painter Andrea del Castagno, is also the entrance to the Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona e Campigna.
Londa lies in the small valley of the river Moscia and can be reached along the SS 556 state road leading from the Val di Sieve to Stia and Casentino. This small town, of mediaeval origins, is enclosed between the waters of two streams and features several ancient houses and a fine doub`e-arched stone bridge over the Rincine torrent A small artificial lake constitutes a pleasant
attraction in the fine season. In the environs, not to be missed are the Romanesque churches of San Leolino a Monti and Sant`Elena a Rincine. A source of pride for the village is the production of the "Regina di Londa" peaches, a late, white variety, celebrated in a small but interesting gastronomic fair held in the month of September. From Londa too it is possible to gain access to the Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona e Campigna.
Dicomano, founded in the thirteenth century as a market town for a fortified hamlet which was later destroyed, is still the site of an important traditional agricultural fair which is held in the spring. In the centre of the town are fine seventeenth-century porticoes and the neoclassical Oratory of Sant`Onofrio. In the vicinity are the Romanesque parish church of Santa Maria, the early eighteenth-century church and former convent of San Giovanni Battista in Sandetole, and the archaeological excavations of Frascole, which have brought to light the remains of a wall circle dating to about the third century BC.
Rufina is famous the world over for its fine wines, celebrated also by one of the numerous Tuscan wine roads: the Chianti Rufina e Pomino, the route of which crosses splendid vineyards following the rolling hills of the Val di Sieve. The Chianti Rufina and the Pomino are two wines of great oenological importance, and the precious nectar is of such significance for this area that in the splendid villa of Poggio Reale in Rufina a most interesting museum has been set up, the Museo della vite e del vino. While the town itself has a fairly modern appearance, the surroundings offer, as well as an exceptionally beautiful hilly landscape, a number of interesting historic buildings, such as the Romanesque church of San Bartolomeo a Pomino, the thirteenth-century church of Santa Maria in Falgano, and the Renaissance Villa del Palagio, also known as the Castello di Pomino.
Pontassieve, the major town of the Val di Sieve, grew up in the thirteenth century close to the confluence of the Sieve and the Arno. Of its past as a typical Florentine walled town it preserves the fourteenth-century gates, the Porta Fiorentina, the Porta Aretina and the Porta Filicaia, as well as traces of the perimeter walls. The bridge over the Sieve, known as the Medici bridge, the present version of which dates to the late sixteenth century, has origins which are much more ancient. Modern-day Pontassieve has the appearance of a typical Tuscan agricultural town, while the environs are rich in mediaeval and Renaissance remains: the Romanesque parish churches of San Giovanni Battista a Remole, in Le Sieci, and of San Martino in Lobaco; the mediaeval castle of Trebbio, in the vicinity of Santa Brigida, and the ancient tower of Montebonello, also mediaeval, on the slope of the Sieve valley which descends from Monte Giovi, on the borders with the territory of Rufina; the Romanesque monastery of Rosano and the seventeenth-century sanctuary of the Madonna del Sasso.
Perched on a rocky spur sheer above the Vicano torrent, on the slopes of Pratomagno,
Pelago offers an atmospheric town centre, enriched by a small but significant collection of sacred art housed in the parish church of San Clemente. The surroundings are extremely beautiful, with gentle hills cloaked with vines and olives, as well as a few settlements already of a distinctly mountainous character, surrounded by dense forests, such as the villages of Tosi and Raggioli, as well as the Consuma pass which represents the gateway to Casentino. Among the most important sites in the area are the parish church of Santa Margherita a Tosina, with a fine triptych by Mariotto di Nardo portraying the Madonna and Child with Saints; the castles of Nipozzano and Ristonchi, both over a thousand years old; the late-Renaissance villa of Altomena, and the picturesque neo-mediaeval castle of Ferrano.
Reggello is set on the slopes of the massif of Pratomagno; the surrounding area features spots of supreme natural and artistic beauty, foremost among them the forest and abbey of Vallombrosa. Here dense woods of beech, chestnut and fir trees surround the imposing fifteenth-sixteenth century monastic complex, and the small commemorative chapels scattered along delightful excursion itineraries within the forest. The area is also constellated with Romanesque churches immersed amidst the olive groves, such as the parish church of Pitiana, the church of San Donato in Fronzano and the parish church of Sant`Agata in Arfoli, not to mention the splendid parish church of San Pietro a Cascia, at the gates of Reggello, with a small but fascinating Museo Masaccio d`arte sacra a splendid corollary to the Triptych of San Giovenale, the first known work by Masaccio, housed in the interior of the church. At the archaeological site of Poggio alia Regina, on the highly picturesque crest of Pratomagno, the remains of a mediaeval castle can be seen.
.... from Montagna fiorentina ( Apt - Florence )
