The itinerary takes you along the roads once taken by pilgrims, knights, simple wayfarers and distinguished people looking for faith and new cultures.
Castles and fortified villages are the evident signs of their passage. One-thousand-years old pievi, abbeys and monasteries still preserve the medieval heritage which even today intrigues. The Casentino is a wide valley enclosed on the West by the hills of the Pratomagno, which separate it from the Valdarno, and on the East by the chain of the Alpe di Catenaia and by the mountains of La Verna which separate it from the Valtiberina, entirely crossed by the flow of the Arno.
From
Arezzo take the SS 71 as far as Rassina. A detour leads to the Pieve of Sant’Antonino at Socana. It is one of the most remarkable religious buildings for the continuity of worship: first the Etruscans (in the apse is a large sacrificial altar, which belonged to a V cent. BC Etruscan temple), then the Romans and finally the Christians wanted to build here their place of worship.
Back to the main road proceed as far as Bibbiena, pass its city centre and on the left take the SS 70 of the
Consuma towards Poppi.
In the distance stands the medieval Castle of the Counts Guidi, built in the second half of the XIII cent.. The design is ascribed to Lapo di Cambio, with later XV cent. interventions by the local architect Jacopo Turriani. After a long and accurate restoration it is now a real jewel of civic and military architecture, a proof of the wealth and pomp of the Counts Guidi. Painting is highlighted by the ornate decorations of the comital chapel, with a cycle
of frescoes by Taddeo Gaddi, one of the followers of Giotto’s painting, first half XIV cent..
Worth a visit is the historical center with the arcaded via Cavour, whose ends are marked by the Baroque Oratory of the Madonna del Morbo (XVII cent.) and the Vallombrosian Abbey of San fedele (late XII cent.).
Continue the main road as far as the fork of Campaldino and on the right take the SS 310 del Bidente towards Pratovecchio. The heart of the historical centre is the
Piazza Paolo Uccello, dedicated to the great Renaissance painter who was born here in 1397.
Noteworthy are the Convent of the Camaldoli Nuns, founded by the Counts Guidi in XII cent., the Monastery of the Dominican nuns of Santa Maria della Neve (XVI cent.) with the adjoining church and the Propositura with XVII cent paintings.
From Pratovecchio a hilly road leads to the imposing Castle of Romena, stonghold of the Counts Guidi, which at 600 m.of height looks out over the whole
valley. From the castle a narrow road leads directly to one of the most stunning Romanesque buildings in the Casentino, with simple façade and bell-tower. The interior, a nave and two aisles, has monolithic sandstone columns with capitals decorated with sculptured leaves and figures, rich in symbols and mysterious meanings.
From Romena back to Stia, thebridge across the Staggia river leads to the historical centre, along via Tanucci, with the arcaded main square, remains of medieval
buildings and the remodelled façade of the XII cent. Romanesque Pieve of Santa Maria Assunta. The sober interior, a nave and two aisles, with columns and capitals decorated with human and animal figures, contains fine works of art.
A few kilometres from Stia a hilly road leads to the Castle of Porciano (XI cent.), one of the first homes of the Counts Guidi. The tiny hamlet of Porciano is all around the castle, whose tower and some remains of the walls only are left. Inside the castle a
small museum houses items of the local rural and pastoral tradition, medieval earthenware and a small collection of American Indian handicraft. |
