Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona, Campigna National Park (also know as Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona, Campigna in Italian) is
a 368 km²
park located in the eastern part of the border between Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna in Italy, in the provinces of Arezzo, Florence and Forlì-Cesena. The National Park was created in 1993 and is home of some of the largest forests in whole Italy.
How do I arrive to Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona, Campigna National Park?
The National Park can be easily reached from both Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna because it's located among them.
- Train: one of the most important towns is Poppi, that can be arrived from Bibbiena (aprox. 10 minutes), Stia (aprox. 15 minutes) and Arezzo (aprox. 1 hour) in the Tuscan side.
- Bus: there are some buses from Florence to Bibbiena and from Forlì to Santa Sofia (aprox. 1 hour 5 minutes) and Bagno di Romagna (aprox. 1 hour 50 minutes).
- Car: in case having a car Poppi can be arrived from Bibbiena (aprox. 15 minutes), Stia (aprox. 20 minutes), Arezzo (aprox. 45 minutes), Sansepolcro (aprox. 1 hour 10 minutes) and Florence (aprox. 1 hour 40 minutes). Bagno di Romagna can be reached from Santa Sogia (aprox. 30 minutes), Sansepolcro (aprox. 35 minutes), Cesena (aprox. 40 minutes), Poppi (aprox. 50 minutes), Forlì (aprox. 1 hour), Premicuore (aprox. 1 hour), Portico di Romagna (aprox. 1 hour 5 minutes) or Rimini (aprox. 1 hour 10 minutes).
Once
in the Park the best ways to move around the park are the car, bike or simply hiking.
History
The area was inhabited by Etruscan settlements (Idoli Lake is the most important archaeological site of the Apennines) and in medieval times, the roads of the area were travelled by pilgrims (especially Germans) to arrive to Rome. Some large families like the Guidi and the presence of strong religious and administrative entities (such as the one of Camaldoli) were strong in the area until when they were conquered and put under the Florentine dominion, later the period part of the Grand-Duchy of Tuscany (being the wood reserve for the Florence Cathedral factory and the Grand Ducal fleets) and the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy. Since the 15th century until the beginning of the Fascist Regime, the upper-middle part of the Romagna valleys (the Romagna side of the park, known as Tuscan Romagna) belonged administratively to Tuscany, with obvious consequences on the culture, language, art, cooking and even to the dialect of these border lands. The first decades of the 20th century were also characterized by the phenomenon of state reforestation. The end of the last world war led to a phenomenon of mass migration: from 1950 to 1970 the mountain countryside was almost completely depopulated.
In the holy centuries, this strip of the Apennines struck and impressed writers, painters, and artists in general (such as Dante Alighieri or Dino Campana) and the park includes two places that are extraordinarily important and fascinating from a spiritual and historical point of view (Hermitage of Camaldoli and the Sanctuary of La Verna).
What can I visit in Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona, Campigna National Park?
Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona, Campigna National Park is a quite under the radar destination. Now it will be explained what to do in the park according to
the town or village where they are or the nearest one:
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Acquacheta Waterfalls
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Another of the villages in the municipality is San Benedetto in Alpe (San Bandét in Emilian), 143 inhabitants, where finding some nice sightseeing points like San Benedetto in Alpe Abbey (Benedictine abbey of medieval origin that preserves the crypt and the remains of the cloister from that period). Next to the village it can be found Acquacheta Waterfalls, the famous waterfalls that were mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy. One of the ways to reach it is the Acquacheta Waterfalls Loop (13.7 km), a round trail starting in San Benedeto that goes next to a lot of waterfalls, the meadow Pian dei Romiti and the ruins of the hermitage of the Abbey of San Benedetto.
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St. Gaudenzio Abbey
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San Godenzo: 1,088 inhabitants town in the province of Florence, Tuscany, in the western part of the National Park.
- St. Gaudenzio Abbey: Benedictine abbey founded in 1028 by the bishop of Fiesole Jacopo il Bavaro absorbed by the Basilica of the Santissima Annunziata in Florence till the order was suppressed by Napoleon. Germans razed the town on the Gothic Line but spared it in consideration of the Bavarian origin of Bishop Jacopo. The altars and the baptismal font are Neo-Romanesque style and has the polyptych Madonna e quattro santi attributed to Bernardo Daddi, the Annunciazione attributed to Il Franciabigio and the statue of San Sebastiano by Baccio da Montelupo.
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Castagno d'Andrea
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Not far from the town it can be found St. Giorgio a Petrognano Church, church founded by a small Benedictine monastic community, replaced in 1482 by the friars of the Order of the Servants of the Santissima Annunziata, that almost completely ruined by the earthquake and rebuilt in 1938.
- One of its frazione is Castagno d'Andrea, a village located at the foot of Monte Falterona that is known for being the birthplace of the painter Andrea del Castagno. On its way to the village is located the nice Calabuia Waterfall. Castagno d'Andrea is also one of the entrances to the National Park and, surrounded by a scenic circle of mountains, rich in springs, it is one of the most evocative places in the Tuscan-Romagna Apennines.
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Monte Falterona
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The visitor can stop here at the St. Martino Church, a church from 1840 that was destroyed during WW2, to then leave to take one of the many trails that exist to explore Monte Falterona (1,654 m high mountain where river Arno springs) and its surroundings. The main one is Monte Falterona Trail (11.9 km), a trail that reaches the mount but also goes by Idoli Lake (important from an archaeological perspective as numerous Etruscan statuettes have been found, now important museums like Louvre, Hermitage and British Museum), the colourful Meadows of Montelleri or Piscino Waterfalls.
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Premilcuore-Tiravento Loop
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Going east it can be found the village of Premilcuore (Premaicur in Emilian), a 723 inhabitants village by river Rabbi in the province of Forlì-Cesena, Emilia-Romagna. Here it can be seen St. Martino all'Oppio Church (a 1526 church that houses a 15th century Tuscan art cross, 17th and 18th century altarpieces and remarkable sacred vestments) and the tower and remains of the Rocca di Premilcuore. The village has also a visitor center of the national park and it's the starting of a nice trail, Premilcuore Tiravento Loop (15 km),  |
Mengozzi Mill
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a beautiful path that reaches Monte Tiravento (1,043 m high) providing sweeping views, the attractive Urlante Waterfall and going through a wood. Outside the village, but within the municipality of Premilcure, it can be found some rural mills that witness mountain culture: Mengozzi Mill at Fiumicello and the Biondi Mill at Castel dell'Alpe.- In the way between Premilcuore and Corniolo the visitor can have another interesting hike, Premilcuore-Passo della Braccina Trail (12 km), a round trip that goes around the surrounding area of Braccina Pass and Valbonella Botanical Garden, in Corniolo.
- Santa Sofia (Santa Sfía in Emilian): 4,080 inhabitants town in the province of Forlì-Cesena, Emilia-Romagna, in the eastern part of the National Park.
- Vero Stoppioni Contemporary Art Gallery (9.30-12.30 and 15-18 Sun):
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Santa Sogia
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art gallery that keeps all the works of art that won the Campigna Award. It has representations of the most interesting Italian artistic trends from the 1950s (Neo-Realism, informal, pop art, abstractionism, new figuration) up to the most recent trends.
- Sculpture Park of Santa Sofia: park with sculptures of well-known artists (like Mauro Staccioli, Hidetoshi Nagasawa or Anne and Patrick Poirier) that integrate the works with the landscape and with the history of the territory.
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Valbonella Botanical Garden
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Santa Sofia has several frazione that are home of picturesque places. One of them is the the 175 inhabitants village of Corniolo, a nice starting point for several hiking routes and trails. Within it the visitor can enjoy the remains of Corniolo Castle, where you can admire coats of arms and the ancient arched door with views to Monte Falterona. Outside the village the visitor can go to Valbonella Botanical Garden (9-13 Mon-Wed, 9-13 and 14-18 Thu-Sun; 9-13 and 14-18 Fri-Sun from Jun to Jul, Sep; free), a natural reserve botanical garden opened in 1983 for mainly educational purposes on the natural environment of the Apennine mountains and includes around 300 native species, with 3 thematic routes through the forest, wetlands, and fields..jpg/1280px-Foresta_(N._Agostini).jpg) |
Campigna Natural Reserve
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- One of the largest routes in the area is Corniolo-Ballatoio-Bivacco San Paolo in Alpe Route (29.3 km), a difficult round trip starting in Corniolo (recommended for mountain bikes) that allows the visitor to enjoy the nature of the national park. It can be rested at San Paolo in Alpe Bivouac shelter and drink some water at Rospo Fountain. The route stops at the village of Campigna, next to Campigna Natural Reserve (reserve whose flora and fauna is rich and varied, including deers and boars, and is mostly compunded of forests of silver fir and beech forests). There is a wide range of trails available departing from Campigna.
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Piazza Tanuci in Stia
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Stia: small town by river Arno that is part of the municipality of Pratovecchio-Stia (5,572 inhabitants) that is part of in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany. It's part of the part of the valley of Casentino and it's located in the western edge of the Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona, Campigna National Park.
- St. Maria Assunta Church: church built by the Counts Guidi in the 12th century, considered as one of the most interesting Romanesque buildings in the Casentino, with a 18th century façade. The interior retains the Romanesque style and has some nice works of arts such as the triptych Annunciazione di Maria e Santi by Bicci di Lorenzo, th terrracotta Madonna col Bambino by Andrea della Robbia and Vergine col Bambino e due Angeli by the school of Cimabue or Giotto.
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Machines at the Museum of Wool Art
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Museum of Wool Art (10-13 Tue-Wed and Fri, 10-13 and 16-19 Thu and Sun, 16-19 Sat from Jun to Sep; 10-13 Tue-Wed and Fri, 10-13 and 15-18 Thu and Sun, 15-18 Sat from Oct to May; 5€/ 3€/ free adults/ retiree and people under 18/ kids under 6): museum located in the complex of the Stia Wool Mill that spreads the textile culture of Casentino, industry that accompanied the development and growth of Stia over the centuries. The mill was neglected for a long time until this museum was created and has old textile machines too.
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Palagio Fiorentino
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- Palagio Fiorentino: 20th century castle, heir of the ancient castle of the Counts Guidi di Palagio destroyed in 1440, in Neo-Gothic style which recalls the setting of Poppi Castle. Today it houses a collection of Contemporary art, temporary exhibitions and conferences.
- Sanctuary of St. Maria delle Grazie: church from the 15th century that has a singular elegance, with a portico and a bell gable. The interior has a single vaulted nave with a deep choir and side altars with works of arts of Della Robbia school, all assignable to Benedetto Buglioni.
- Around Stia the visitor can take some hikes such as Santo Stefano-Poggio Garbello-Sentiero dei Fascisti-Strada del Tufone Route (22.2 km), a route that explores the surrounding forests, hillrock and the remains of the Gothic Line.
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St. Pietro a Romena Church
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- The other small town of the municipality is Pratovecchio. Here the visitor can explore St. Giovanni Evangelista Monastery, monastery established in 1134 by the Guidi Counts and renovated in the 17th century with a large altarpiece by Giovanni Bizzelli and the Madonna Assunta by the Maestro di Pratovecchio; St. Pietro a Romena Church, mid-12th century church that is one of the most interesting Romanesque churches in the Casentino with is monumental apse and the decoration of its capitals, and Romena Castle (10-14:30 and 15:30-20 from Jul to Aug; 10-13:30 and 14:30-19 Sat-Sun in Jun and Sep; 3€/ 2€ adults/ reduced), a castle that is mentioned in the Divine Comedy and from where getting nice views of Casentino.
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Basilica of St. Maria Assunta
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Bagno di Romagna (Bagn d'Rumàgna in Emilian): 5,760 town in the province of Forlì-Cesena, Emilia-Romagna. It's quite known for being a spa town and here it's said to have occured a theEucharistic miracle of Bagno di Romagna (when the wine contained in the chalice turned into blood) in 1412.- Basilica of St. Maria Assunta: basilica first mentioned in 872 (oldest building in Bagno) the retains some parts of its original Romanesque structure but most of it belongs to the transformations carried out in the 15th century. It was an important stop for pilgrims who traveled the Via Romea. Inside it preserves many works of art from the Tuscan school dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries like a triptych Madonna Assunta e Santi by Neri di Bicci,
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Palazzo dei Capitani
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a Madonna col Bambino attributed to the Maestro di Sant'Ivo, a Natività attributed to Ghirlandaio or a Crucifixion by Alessandro Gherardini. - Palazzo dei Capitani: 14th century palace that shows its Florentine nature, recalling the long belonging of Bagno and Tuscan Romagna to the Medici, with stone coats of arms of the Florentine Captains and Vicars who ruled the city collected on its façade. It became the seat of Medici power in 1454, adapting the palace of the Earls Guidi. Today it's used as a cultural center.
- Bagno di Romagna Spa: group of three spas with an important traditions in the area and very popular for visitors.
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Ridracoli Lake
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- On the outskirts of Bagno there's the Sanctuary of Madonna di Corzano, a small church with a fresco of Madonna with Child and Saint Catherine of Alexandria from 1430, that survived being abandoned after it was conquered by Florence to the counts of Guidi.
- In the municipality, close to the village of Ridracoli (Ridràcle in Emilian), it's also located the Ridracoli Lake, an artificial basin built to feed the aqueduct and the power plant of the same name. The wooded scrub that stretches all around is crossed by trails, such as Ridracoli Lake-La Lama Forest House Trail (20.3 km),
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Sasso Fratino Natural Reserve
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and equipped with areas for picnics. From June to August you can sail on the lake with a tourist navigation service.
- Not far from the lake the visitor can reach Sasso Fratino Natural Reserve, one of the few strips of forest that has come to us almost intact thanks to the presence of rugged rocky slopes and the lack of access roads they characterized it, whose characteristics prevented its human colonization. The access to the area is strictly forbidden. In 2017 it was placed by UNESCO in the World Heritage Site of Primordial Beech Forests of the Carpathians and other regions of Europe.
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Foresta della Lama
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In the border between Emilia-Romagna and the province of Arezzo (Tuscany) it can be found one of the the most important intact portion forests of the Casentinesi Forests in the whole national park, Foresta della Lama, rich in broad-leaved trees and conifers and nhabited by roe deer, deer, mouflons, dormice, fallow deer, wild cats, among others. There's a long trail called Foresta della Lama Route (49.4 km), specially thought for mountain bikes, that enables the visitor to know more about the forest, its different fauna and flora, and see other landscapes such as Brasco Fir Forest. It begins near Sasso Fratino Natural Reserve and finishes near Badia Prataglia.
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Views of Poppi
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Poppi: 6,141 inhabitants town by river Arno in the province of Arezzo (Tuscany), part of the valley of Casentino. It's placed inside the list of the most beautiful villages and towns in Italy.
- Poppi Castle (10-18 from May to Sep; 10-17 Thu-Sun from Oct to Apr; 6€/ 4€ adults/ reduced): castello built by Arnolfo di Cambio for the Earl Simone da Battifolle in the 13th century to be the house of his family. The castle was involved in two major battles for the destination of Casentino: the Battle of Campaldino (1289) and the Battle of Anghiari (1440), and in both the Guidis chose the losing side. The castle is quite spectacular with a wonderful courtyard, beautiful stairs, a library full of medieval books and an incredible chapel with frescoes by Taddeo Gaddi.
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Poppi Castle
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Inside it there are some small museums dedicated to human rights and then Museum of the Campaldino Battle (that reconstructs the battlefield where the two armies, the Aretine and Florentine, met at Campaldino on 1289).
- Camaldolesi Monastery: monastery built around 1563. It has a church whose portal is surmounted by a lunette with a Pietà terracotta attributed to the workshop of Benedetto Buglioni. In the church there are also some works by Francesco Morandini, known as Poppi, like the Annunciation, Sant'Agostino Vescovo and San Gregorio Papa.
- Madonna del Morbo Church: Baroque style church, from the 17th century, with a rare hexagonal layout with a rounded dome and façade portico by Francesco Folli.
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Madonna del Morbo Church
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It has a Madonna del Canto painted by a follower of Filippino Lippi and a canvas by Pier Dandini, Coronation of the Virgin between Saints Francis, Romuald, and Torello.
- St. Fedele Church: church that dates back to the 10th century being first a Benedictine monastery and then adopting the Vallombrosan rule, was enlarged in the following centuries and transformed into Baroque style. In 1810 the abbey was suppressed and reduced to a simple parish and in the 20th century the Romanesque style was restored. Inside it has works by attributed to Giovan Battista Naldini, to Il l Passignano and to Maestro della Maddalena.
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Camaldoli Monastery
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Going north from Poppi, in the frazione of Camldoli, it can be visited Camaldoli State Reserve, a reserve characterized by a beautiful white fir fir interspersed with mixed beech and white fir woods. Inside the reserve the visitor can explore Camaldoli Monastery (8-13 and 15:30-18), a Benedictine monastery founded by St. Romualdo in 1024 where 20 monks still live. In the lower part of the complex it can be found the Church of Camaldoli Monastery, a 16th century church restored in 1772 that has some paintings by Giorgio Vasari like Deposizione dalla Croce, Natività di Cristo and Vergine in Trono tra San Giovanni Battista e San Girolamo. It's also home of the an old pharmacy from 1450 (9-12:30 and 14-18), pharmacy with soap, perfumes and traditional drugs) and a small museum (that shows some old objects from the monastery and used by the moks like wooden press, oil bottles and other daily objects used by the monks since the 15th century).  |
Hermitage of Camaldoli
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Going 3 km north it can be found the Hermitage of Camaldoli (6-11 and 15-18; free). Here it's located some of the most important churches: St. Eremo Church (a Baroque church that has Cristo crocifisso adorato da San Pietro, San Paolo, San Romualdo e San Francesco by Bronzino) and St. Antonio Abate Chapel (whose main highlight is the altarpiece in ceramics Vergine e il Bambino con Santi by Andrea della Robbia). It can also be visited the impressing library, the Cella di St. Romualdo Abate, cell where St. Romualdo lived, worked and prayed, and the impressing work by 20th century artist Claudio Parmiggiani, Porta Speciosa.
- Close to the monastery it can be taking a nice route in the village of Moggiona, Moggiona-Sentiero della Linea Gotica Trail (11 km), whose objective is to discover the part of the defensive line with guns, called the Gothic Line,
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Tre Cascate Waterfalls
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that the Germans created in World War II.
- In the frazione of Badia Prataglia, very close to Emilia-Romagna the visitor can take many routes and trails to discover the nature and landscapes of the national park. One of the trails is Forest upon Badia Prataglia Trail
(9.2 km), that goes through beech forests reaching places like Monte Cucco (1,566 m high), Crocina Pass or Buca delle Fate. Another route here is Badia Prataglia-Poggio Brogli Trail (11 km) and close to the road that goes to Emilia-Romagan there are the nice Tre Cascate Waterfalls. The village is also the starting point of Foresta della Lama Route (49.4 km),
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Views at Foresta della Lama Route
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a long route for hiking and bikes that goes along the beautiful plateau of the Lama, surrounded by rugged mountains covered by the most natural and intact portion of the Casentinesi Forest. Here there's also a visitor center and Sts. Maria Assunta e Bartolomeo Church, remains of a 10th century Benedictine abbey that was suppressed in 1391 following the rise of the nearby Camaldoli Monastery. The beautiful crypt has elements that can be traced back to the early 12th century.
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Views of Bibbiena
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Bibbiena: 11,998 inhabitants town
in the province of Arezzo (Tuscany), being the largest one in the valley of Casentino.
Where can I eat in Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona, Campigna National Park?
The culinary offer of the park is diverse. Casentino has lots of local foods unique that include tortelli di patate (kind of ravioli stuffed with potatoes), pappardelle al ragù (pasta with tomato and meat sauce) or cianghiale en umido (wild boar stew in red wine with red peppers). In the part of the park that corresponds to Emilia-Romagna it's very typical and famous the chesse parmigiano-reggiano, a hard and granular cheese that is produced from cow's milk protected with designations of origin. It is also very trypical from high Tuscan-Romagna Apennines the raviggiolo (raw milk cheese, sour and light, white and soft, to be eaten fresh).Poppi has some nice places to eat like the osteria Il Porto (Via Roma 226) or the Tuscan restaurant La Vite (Via del Lanificio, Soci). Close to Poppi, in Pratovvechi, there are two nice restaurants: the osteria Toscana Twist (Via della Libertà 3) and the restaurant La Tana degli Orsi (Via Roma 1). There are choices to try traditional food from Casentino too such as the restaurant of the hotel I Tre Baroni (Via di Camaldoli 52, Moggiona) or Il Cedro (Via di Camaldoli 30, Moggiona).
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