VISIONS OF TUSCANY

VILLAGE FESTIVAL

VISIONS OF TUSCANY

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CASENTINO VALLEY - HISTORY The Casentino valley, being crossed by main communication roads, has always been inhabited since ancient times. Several traces of the Etruscan civilization were found, such as the votive statues of the “Lago degli Idoli” (“Lake of Idols”)or the altar of the temple of Pieve a Socana, which then became a parish church bearing the name of Sant’Antonino, and proving a striking persistence of worship during different historic periods. The Casentino valley became a Longobard dominion since the VI century a.C., whereas as from the beginning of the spread of Christianity several pievi (parish churches) were established along the old path of the Roman Flaminia Minor road, which turned out to be real masterpieces of art and architecture. Its numerous isolated mountains and woods formed an ideal environment for prayer and concentration, making of mysticism the distinguishing feature of this valley. Several monasteries and cloisters were established as from the XI century, among which one could quote Camaldoli, which was founded by St. Romualdus and the Sanctuary of La Verna, where St. Francis received the stigmata. Feudal times were characterized by the rule of the Guidi Counts but also by that of the Ubertini and Tarlati families. The spread of castles characterized this territory by means of a well-connected network of castles, some of which are still in good condition nowadays. Meanwhile a rise in trade and commercial relationships taking place during the XII and XIII centuries favoured pilgrimages especially towards Rome and the road of the Alpe di Serra through the Casentino valley, so connecting Central Europe and southern Germany with central Italy. Since commerce was a prerogative of towns Florence, having freed itself from the imperial power, together with Arezzo started to extend their boundaries at the expense of feudal lords and of neighbouring towns. The struggle between the above mentioned towns became embittered by means of the division into the Guelph and the Ghibelline factions, so that on the 11th of June 1289 the Casentino valley witnessed the epic Tuscan battle of Campaldino, during which the Florentine and the Guelph armies defeated the Aretines and the Ghibellines. The outstanding Italian poet Dante himself as a young man is said to have taken part in this battle, which he quotes in his famous Divine Comedy. In the early fourteenth century Florence prevailed over Arezzo and its feudal lords, so that the conquer of the Casentino valley was completed in 1440 when the last Count of the Guidi family, Francesco from Poppi, who had entered into an alliance with the Visconti family, that is with the enemies of the Republic, was forced to give up his landed property after the victorious battle of Anghiari. As from the fifteenth century the Casentino valley was linked to the destiny of Florence and of Tuscany. The Medici Signoria, linked to the Sanctuaries of Santa Maria del Sasso and La Verna, kept preferential relationships with the Dovizi family from Bibbiena and in fact the action of Cardinal Bernardo Dovizi was decisive within the framework of the election of Giovanni de’ Medici as Pope Leone X. A period of peace started with the conquest of Siena in 1557, the triumph of Cosimo I and the beginning of the Grand Duchy: fortifications began to decline whereas villages and market-places were established in the flat land. Casentino forests were particularly important for Florence, since they played an important role in the construction of the Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore by Brunelleschi and of the new-born grand-ducal fleet of the Medici family (tree-trunks were transported by means of the Arno river). When the Grand Duchy passed from the Medici to the Habsburg-Lorraine family in 1737 also the Casentino valley took part into a reform period which laid the foundations for modern Tuscany. Bernardo Tanucci from Stia, a politician working for the Bourbon kings of Naples, was an outstanding personage of the Casentino valley. This Lorrainese experience, interrupted by the Napoleonic rise and fall, started once again after 1814. In 1823 Karl Siemon (Carlo Siemoni) was entrusted with the management of the Casentino forests and he freed them from a long period of decay and poverty supporting a recovery of the economy of the entire valley. Consuma, a road connecting Florence with the Casentino valley, was built on the initiative of the Lorraine family. After the unification of Italy, by means of a progressive even if slow industrialization process, some typical productions such as wool developed from craftsmanship to real industrial plants. The Casentino valley experienced a special period during the romantic decades of the nineteenth century since it started to be appreciated from Italians as well as from foreigners due to its medieval history, its numerous castles and pievi, its several places linked to Dante’s name. This valley became the destination of many poets’ and writers’ journeys, who then praised its history, traditions and picturesque aspects. If the Casentino valley lost a great number of men struggling in the name of their Mother Country during the first world war, it was subsequently directly hit by the second world war by means of the retreat of the German soldiers closely chased by the advance of the Allied forces towards North and the Linea Gotica. The Casentino valley is today a prospering region thanks to industrial and commercial activities but it still retains the charm of a territory offering centuries-old traditions together with a relevant historic, art and religious heritage within the framework of an extremely beautiful natural environment. RETURN TO CASENTINO VALLEY MAIN PAGE