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IL VALDARNO SUPERIORE
The Romanesque churches and the perched villages characterise
the landscape of the Valdarno Superiore.
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A
fascinating
area which was contended by Florence and Arezzo during the Middle
Ages. The domination of the Florentines linked the Valdarno Superiore
to the Florentine Republic first and then to the Grand Duchy. From
the Florentine period remains the so-called “terre nuove”
(the new land) created in the 13th century and plotted with churches,
cottages, and fortresses. In the 14th century, in order to cope with
the bishops from Arezzo, the Florentines built the “terre murate”
(the walled land), or the three fortified villages of San Giovanni,
Terranuova and Castelfranco. Arezzo on the other hand had the powerful
castles of Cennina, Castiglione degli Umbertini and Laterina. The
Valdarno Superiore was definitely annexed to the Florentine Republic
in 1327. Though preserving a traditional agriculture concentrated
on the wine and olive oil production, the Valdarno is one of the oldest
industrial centres in Tuscany. Concentrated in the valley, the industries
have not damaged the historical heritage and the landscape.
Figline Valdarno is an important productive centre which preserves
its boundary wall raised in the 14th century. Visit the Loggiati dell’Ospedale
Serristori, from the 17th century, and the Collegiata di Santa Maria,
which houses a precious painting representing the Madonna on the throne
with Child and Angels and Saints from the 14th century. Both the Ospedale
and the Collegiata face the main square of the town, named after the
humanist Marsilio Ficino who was born here in 1433. Also interesting
is the Palazzo Pretorio, founded in the 14th century but modified
in 1930 and the Casa Grande dei Serristori, a marvellous palace from
the 15th century. In the centre of Figline you find the Chiesa di
San Francesco, part of a convent which belongs to the minor monks
since the 13th century. The Renaissance portal, the cloister and the
chapter-house can be visited. Inside the church you find several artworks
among which we can mention the precious frescoes from the 14th and
the 15th century. In the centre of Figline you also find the Monasterio
di Santa Croce, founded in 1542 and belongs to the cloistered Augustinian
nuns.
At Gaville, a hamlet to Figline Valdarno, you can visit the Pieve
di San Romolo, with the Museo della Civiltà Contadina, embellished
with a big oil-presser from the 17th century.
Closer to Florence, Incisa Valdarno is a lively industrial
centre which preserves in the historical part the tower of the castle
from the 13th-14th century. Not far from the castle you find the Oratorio
del Crocifisso which features the Santa Croce Miracolosa, which used
to be venerated in the past. The miraculous cross was donated to the
church in Incisa by the Compagnia dei Penitenti (the Penitent Company),
who came to the simple and sober oratory as pilgrims. Also visit the
Chiesa del Vivaio from the 16th century, restructured in the 18th
century according to the Baroque style. Inside the church you can
see lots of important paintings and the church will soon become a
museum for holy art. It is worth to stop at the Pieve di San Vito
at Loppiano, founded in the 11th century in a Romanesque style. Today
it houses the religious international movement called Focolarini.
Rignano sull'Arno is worth a stop for the Chiesa di San Clemente
a Sociana, a very simple building where you can admire the Madonna
with Chil by Antonio Rossellino and two marvellous candle-holders
with angels sculptured by Mino da Fiesole. See the Pieve di San Leolino,
built in the 11th century according to the sober Romanesque taste.
Today it only preserves its original architecture around the apse
and features some precious frescoes from the 14th century. The small
Chiesa di San Piero at Perticaia was one of the suffragan churches
of San Leolino, mentioned in the 11th century. Inside, the a small
Romanesque hall has not been plastered and only features stone-walls.
The strong walls which delimit the cloister from the church make you
believe that the building was built for defensive purposes, probably
during the Longobard period, and only later on transformed into a
church. At Volognano, in the Chiesa di San Michele you find a painting
from the 16th century representing the Madonna with Angels and Saints,
attributed to Rosso Fiorentino.
In the Valdarno Superiore towards Arezzo you ought to have
a look at the small and picturesque village of Loro Ciuffenna,
perched over the stream with the same name in a marvellous panoramic
position. The medieval fortress is practically intact and the quarter
called “Fondaccio” preserves its original buildings, plotted
around the Romanesque bridge with a vertiginous bay. In the Chiesa
di Santa Maria Assunta there is a triptych attributed to Lorenzo di
Bicci, while you can not miss the nearby Pieve di Propina, the most
important Romanesque church in the Valdarno. The sober and majestic
building preserves its unique sculptured capitals with animals or
antromorphes and a circle-shaped ambo in bas-relief. Under the church
you find the remains of a religious building from the 7th century,
from the Early Christian period and some remains from the Roman period.
Castelfranco di Sopra was founded in 1299, probably according
to a project by Arnolfo di Cambio. The historical centre of Castelfranco
preserves intact its fascinating medieval military structure built
for defensive and commercial purposes. As all the “nuove terre”
wanted by the Florentines in the 13th century, the town is developed
around the main square with a chessboard-like architecture, in which
the paved streets cross each other orthogonally. The fortified walls
cans till be seen, as well as the two gates and many palaces built
during the Renaissance. Also visit the Chiesa di San Tommaso, built
in the 11th century, the Oratorio di San Filippo and the Palazzo Comunale
from the 14th century, where the old prison used to be. Not far from
Castelfranco you find the marvellous Badia di San Salvatore at Soffena,
founded around year 1000 and modified in the 14th and the 18th century.
After being restructured the Badia has regained its medieval fascination,
Inside there are beautiful frescoes, some of them attributed to Bicci
di Lorenzo. Not far from Castelfranco you ought to stop at the small
village called Pian di sco, which during the Middle Ages was the outpost
for Arezzo against the Florentines. You can still see the Romanesque
church from where you have a marvellous view.
San Giovanni Valdarno is the biggest town of the “terre
murate” wanted by the Florentines in the 13th century, when they
wanted to expand for military and commercial interest. The historical
centre of the town shows its medieval origins with the square-shaped
plant in which the streets cross each other orthogonally, according
to the Roman camp model. Masaccio was born in San Giovanni in the
14th century, while the genius Arnolfo di Cambio built the Palazzo
della Podestà which is still today the town hall. The façade
is decorated with an elegant and wide portal, where you also can see
the armorial coats of the leading families in San Giovanni between
1409 and 1772. In Piazza Masaccio you find the Basilica di Santa Maria
delle Grazie, built in the 15th century though it has a façade
from the 18th century. Under the arcade you can see glazed terracotta
works by Giovanni della Robbia while the inside houses several works
such as the marvellous Annunciation by Beato Angelico, which comes
from the Convent of Monte Carlo.
Cavriglia is a small village of the Valdarno, famous for the
many strip mines, which are extracted in open mines in order to fuel
the big thermo-electronic central. Caviglia is also known for its
park-zoo with many different animals, both local and exotic. The park
of Cavriglia gets crowded on Sundays when the families come here with
their children.
Montevarchi is today a commercial town but is also characterised
by its ellipsoid plant with medieval origins. See the Collegiata di
San Lorenzo where the Museo di Arte Sacra collects important artworks
such as the monumental temple in a Della Robbia style. In the elegant
cloister of the Convent di San Lodovico you find the Museo Paleontologico
which houses fossils from the Pliocene period found in the Arno valley.
Not far from Montevarchi you can stop at the Castello di Cennina,
built in the 13th century to affront the Florentines. From here you
have a marvellous vie over the Valdarno and the Pratomagno and is
worth to walk around in the town next to the castle.
Terranova Bracciolini is today an important industrial and
commercial area, though it still preserves the boundary wall built
by the Florentines in 1337, when the village was founded. The great
humanist during the Medici period, Poggio Bracciolini,was born here
in the 15th century.
Laterina preserves its medieval castle though there are findings
which witness that man has lived here since pre-historical times.
It probably got its name from the many brick ovens used by the Etruscans
and the Romans. The remains of the Castello di Bucine, perhaps an
Etruscan-Roman settlement but important during the Middle Ages thanks
to its strategic position over the Ambra valley, is a very fascinating
sight. Thanks to the position in the crossroad connecting the Valdarno
with Siena, it soon became a numerous and active commercial centre.
Pergine Valdarno is a small village in which there are remains
of a castle built in the 10th century and incorporated in the village.
The main characteristics of this small village of the Valdarno Superiore
which is famous for its agriculture, are the hills and the forests
with olive-trees and the vineyards.
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