The Casentino

One of the best kept serets in Tuscany and probably the area offering the best value for money too it is little wonder the affluent Florentines are snapping up houses in the Casentino.

Once the poorest valley in Tuscany the Casentino was reached from the north of Arezzo. It was opened up to Florence in the 19th century when the mountain town of Consuma was built and a pass opened linking the Casentino to the Val d'Arno. When the Florentines first met the Casentinese, as they inhabitants are called, they found everyone in the valley spoke with a vastly different accent to the Florentine Tuscans living just a few miles away.

Now the fast SS69 provides quick access from Poppi you can be in Florence in less than an hour, as you drive up the scenic road to Consuma (1050 meters above sea level), and back down again towards Pontassieve.

Poppi overlooks the battlefield of Campaldino, fought between the then independent republics of Arezzo and Florence in 1289, the most famous combatant, as history would recall, was the young Dante a knight fighting for Florence.

Now the Casentino is very rural and undeveloped and so retains many charming unrestored properties.

Casentino Tourist Board (Sito Italiano)

Casentino National Park - The National Park of the Casentino Forest which includes Mt. Falterona and Campigna on the northeastern border of Tuscany. (English, Deutsch, Italiano)

Casentino Study Abroad Programme for international students, located in the Casentino, that offers classes on the Italian language, humanities and political science. (English)

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