Central Italy
	Tuscany by Anna Marcato

 

Tuscany - Upper Valdarno - Laterina

Though born in Bologna and living some years in Padua, I finally moved to my favourite part of Italy: Tuscany. The area offers such wonderful, varied scenery, and there are many reserves and natural parks, plus museums, ancient buildings and cathedrals; the remains of medieval buildings still beautify most of its cities, and castles and watch towers can be found almost everywhere. UNESCO has declared numerous areas protected sites: the historical centres of Siena, Pienza, Florence, Val d’Orcia, and San Gimignano, plus Pisa cathedral square.

 

Upper Valdarno

Tuscany is crossed by the Arno river, which has its source in the Apennine Mountains and curves initially south, then west near Arezzo, before reaching Florence and Pisa, and finally flowing into the Ligurian Sea.

The first part of the river valley is called the Upper Valdarno. It is bordered to the east by the mountains of Pratomagno and to the west by the Chianti hills, and has been inhabited since prehistoric times. During the Middles ages a series of castles and fortresses were built, from which the villages located along the valley grew. The majority of the municipalities in the area have medieval origins and their ancient splendor is still in evidence.

 

This region is also characterized by Le Balze, small, craggy hills formed over the centuries by erosion of the land along the slopes of Pratomagno. Le Balze creates a unique landscape, made immortal by Leonardo da Vinci in his paintings.

Upper Valdarno has much to offer in terms of different itineraries and culture. Not far away are Val di Chiana, Chianti, and Arezzo - worth a visit with its well preserved centre, the Duomo, and many other historical buildings. North-east of Arezzo are the beautiful old towns of Anghiari, Sansepolcro, Bibbiena, and Caprese Michelangelo, where Michelangelo Buonarroti was born. Lake Trasimeno, Cortona and Perugia are also quite close, and today the forests of the Casentino form a National Park that is among the largest in Italy. The park is home to deer, badgers, wolves and many other wild animal species.

One of the most fascinating routes to explore is the old Etruscan "Sette Ponti" road, which became "Cassia Vetus" during the Roman Empire and was for centuries the only safe connection between Arezzo and Florence. The road runs partly across a plain and partly through hills, yielding breathtaking views over the countryside, and passing through or near many villages worth a stop, among them Loro Ciuffenna and the old "Pieve of Gropina".

Laterina

My home is on the outskirts of Laterina, which, though small has everything the visitor needs. I always send my guests to the village to get a sense of Tuscany's history, for the territory where Laterina's castle stands has been inhabited since very ancient times. The Etrurian dwellings and probable Roman settlements testify to this.

Time runs slower in Laterina and the women stop to chat in the little main square, near the beautiful old building at its centre, decorated with the insignia of many noble Aretinian and Florentine families. Gradually I have learnt that beneath their tough exteriors, the locals are hard working and hospitable, who are proud of their village and its history. Dante mentioned Laterina in his Divina Comedia; Laterina was also visited by Goethe, and by Montaigne, who wrote that there he found the best Osteria (inn)) in the whole of Tuscany, and that the view over the valley was superb. Nowadays you'll see a lot of young people around, especially on a summer evening, and there's a pleasant little restaurant where you can eat true Tuscan cuisine at very reasonable prices.

In 1272, the town of Arezzo took possession of Laterina to hold up the expansion in Valdarno of the Florentines. After over a century and much bloodshed, on 5th November 1384, in Laterina the treaty was finally signed sanctioning the defeat of Arezzo and the delivery of the old village to the Republic of Florence. Every August Laterina organises a pageant, to remind people of the shame brought upon them by the medieval Archbishop of Arezzo, who threw salt on the ruins of the defeated town before giving it to the victorious Florentinians.

The historical walled centre, well preserved, lies on a hill that dominates the Arno plain. It is made up of three parallel streets: the central one ends to the east with the fortress and to the west with a medieval tower, Torre di Guinigi, recently restored. Just out of Laterina, is the magnificent Villa Monsoglio, founded in 1109 and originally a hospital. It has an extensive Italian garden and interiors decorated with frescoes. Nearby is the bridge Ponte Romito, whose ancient structures remain, and was so called because "repentants", usually Franciscan tertiaries, had settled at the villa. The bridge was important for the communications between Arezzo and Valdarno.

West of Laterina is Via Franchigena, the old road that the pilgrims trod en route from Canterbury to Rome. It's believed that in ancient times pilgims made a detour en masse to the Pieve di Santa Maria in Valle, just next to our holiday home, to pray to the Holy Virgin to give them rain during the years of drought. A second point of devotion they visited is Pieve di Sant Ippolito e Cassiano, built in around 1100 over the ruin of a Roman Castrum. There you can still see fragments of mosaics and the old roman stone floor.

Laterina, and three other local municipalities following the big Arno flood of 1966, together created one of the most beautiful natural protected areas of Tuscany: Valle dell Inferno a Bandella. A dam forms an artificial lake, and the area is full of flowers, vegetation, a lovely walking trail, and plenty of opportunities to bird-watch.

I'm here to stay!

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