Casentino

The Casentino is a mountain valley in the province of Arezzo the Italian region of Tuscany.

The highest peaks are around 1600 meters of Montefalco ( 1658 m), the Monte Falterona (1654 m), where the Arno rises, the Pratomagno ( 1592m ) which separates the valley of Casentino from Chianti, and the Monte della Verna, the it separates from the upper Tiber valley. The area covers 826.34 km ².

500 years was the Casentino dominated by the noble family of the Guidi. In 1440 it fell to Florence; a governor was installed, which managed the area. Due to its geographical position and its history, the Casentino has always remained a kind of remote island in the heart of central Italy.

Even today, this area - even among Italians - little known, although it is distant only 50 km from Florence. It comes in the Casentino not happen to pass - you have to want it. The spoken language in the Casentino something archaic has been preserved, which is reminiscent of the ancient Italian, in which Dante wrote his Divine Comedy.

Communities

Major monasteries

  • Santuario della Verna, the oldest Franciscan monastery at all, was founded by Francis of Assisi as a hermitage in 1214. Francis of Assisi lived in a spectacularly situated in the cliffs of Table Mountain Monte Penna cave and said, according to tradition here with the birds. 1224 is said to have occurred there something crucial: Franz had been " stigmatized ". On hands and feet, wounds had suddenly shown at Christ. La Verna is now a living monastery and an important place of pilgrimage.
  • Camaldoli Monastery and Hermitage of Camaldoli in the district of Camaldoli ( Poppi), is 1024-1025 by St. Romuald, a Benedictine monk ( 1027 ), was founded and finds its roots in the tradition of monasticism of the Christian East and in the monastic tradition of the West. The " Hermitage " is situated at 1000 meters altitude, in the National Park " Foreste Casentinese " in a truly spectacular location. Very interesting are the ancient " hostel ", the little cloister from the 15th century, the library, the baroque church ( picture boards by Vasari; cloister dating back to 1543), the contemporary " pharmacy " with antique furniture and vases, the " Monastery "itself, in whose refectory, a large oil painting of Pomarancio (17th century) is located.

Casentino Forest National Park

In the mountains of the Casentino one of the largest forests of Italy - the Casentino Forest National Park: this also has to do with the long isolation of the area, as well as the pleasant fact that there deer, badgers, wild boar and even wolves. Today the forests of the Casentino have become one of the largest national parks in Italy.

German in the Casentino

For many years the Casentino is gewordern the new home of many German-speaking former members who usually live in many places, still very original and wild countryside of small farm enterprises. In the summer, a variety of activities take place in the Casentino. So a guest, for example: the circus Zuzzurulloni every year in early August at the plazas. The Klezmer Band Corde Valle Santa is located in the Casentino, it will find music festivals and music summer courses in the mountains instead.

Dante Alighieri Giorgio Vasari Rural tourism
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