Casentino
The Casentino is a mountain valley in the Province of Arezzo in the Italian region of Tuscany .
geography
The highest peaks are the Monte Falco ( 1658 m ), the Monte Falterona (1654 m), where the Arno rises, the Pratomagno (1592 m), which separates the Casentino valley from the Chianti , and the Monte della Verna , the it separates from the upper Tiber valley. The area covers 826.34 km² .
history
For 500 years the Casentino was dominated by the noble Guidi family . In 1440 it fell to Florence ; a governor was appointed to administer the area. Due to its geographical location and history, the Casentino has always remained a kind of remote island in the heart of central Italy .
Even today this area is little known - even among Italians - although it is barely 50 km from Florence. You don't come by Casentino by chance - you have to want to. The language spoken in Casentino has retained something archaic, reminiscent of ancient Italian, in which Dante wrote his Divine Comedy.
Communities
- Bibbiena
- Capolona
- Caprese Michelangelo
- Castel Focognano
- Castel San Niccolò
- Chitignano
- Chiusi della Verna
- Ortignano Raggiolo
- Poppi
- Pratovecchio Stia
- Subbiano
- Talla
Important monasteries
- Santuario della Verna , the oldest Franciscan monastery at all, was foundedas a hermitageby Francis of Assisi in 1214. Francis of Assisi lived in a spectacular rock cave in the rocks of Table Mountain Monte Penna and, according to tradition, spoke to the birds here. In 1224 something very decisive is said to have happened there: Franz was " stigmatized ". Suddenly wounds like those of Christ would have appeared on the hands and feet. Today La Verna is a living monastery and an important place of pilgrimage.
- Eremo di Camaldoli , monastery and hermitage of the Camaldolese in the district of Camaldoli ( Poppi ), was founded between 1024 and 1025 by St. Romuald, a Benedictine monk († 1027) and has its roots in the tradition of monasticism in the Christian Orient and in the monastic tradition Of the West. The "Eremo" is located 1000 meters above sea level, in the middle of the "Foreste Casentinese" National Park in an impressive location. The ancient "hostel", the small cloister from the 15th century, the library, the baroque church (panels by Vasari ; cloister from 1543), the contemporary "pharmacy" with antique furniture and vases, the "monastery" are very interesting "itself, in whose refectory there is a large oil painting by Pomarancio (17th century).
Foreste Casentinesi National Park
In the mountains of the Casentino lies one of the largest forests in Italy - the Foreste Casentinesi National Park : this, too, has to do with the long isolation of the area, as well as the pleasant fact that deer, badgers, wild boars and even wolves live here. Today the Casentino forests have become one of the largest national parks in Italy.
Germans in the Casentino
For many years, the Casentino has become the new home of many German-speaking dropouts, who mostly live from small agriturismo companies in the still very original and wild landscape in many places . In summer there are many activities in the Casentino. For example, the Zuzzurulloni Circus takes part in the piazzas at the beginning of August every year. The Klezmer Band Vallesanta Corde is based in Casentino, there are music festivals and music summer courses in the mountains.
literature
- Giovanni Caselli: Casentino - Guida Storico Ambientale. Editrice Le Balze, Montepulciano 2003, ISBN 88-87187-81-9
