Itinerary

Duration: two nights, three days.

Way of transport: by car

Itinerary: Marradi, Palazzuolo sul Senio, Acquacheta, Premilcuore, Casentino Forests Park, San Godenzo.

 

DAY 1 – MARRADI, PALAZZUOLO SUL SENIO

We'll reach Marradi by car. This is a small town in the province of Florence where Romagna dialect is spoken. It overlooks the Lamone river. It's the native town of Dino Campana, who wrote the “Orphic Songs” (must-see: his Native Home):

 

”Io vidi dalle solitudini mistiche staccarsi una tortora e volare distesa verso le valli immensamente aperte.”

 

Every fall, Marradi holds the "Chestnut Festival", an old event that takes place over four consecutive weekends, an absolute must.

 

Must-sees: the Badia del Borgo, or the San Lorenzo Archpriest Church, rebuilt in 1785 in neoclassical style, the Town Hall and the beautiful Animosi Theatre.

 

We'll then head over to Palazzuolo sul Senio, 11 km away, crossing enchanting beech woods.. Once there, we'll visit the Archaeological Museum of Upper Mugello with findings and events of the upper valleys of the Lamone, Senio and Santerno rivers. Must-see: the Susisana Abbey, 4 km away, an ancient monastery where Moghinardo Pagani was buried, described by Dante as a Ghibelline of uncertain faith (Inferno, Canto XXVII).

We'll head back to Marradi for the night.

 

DAY 2 – ACQUACHETA, PREMILCUORE AND THE CASENTINO FORESTS PARK

We'll drive over to San Benedetto in Alpe (20 km), where we'll visit the Abbey of the same name that dates back to the 13th century. After that, we'll take a path that in 90 minutes of easy walking will take us to the spectacular beauty of the Acquacheta Falls, also mentioned by Dante.

In the afternoon, we'll head over to Premilcuore, a town that was a fief of the Guidi counts. This small medieval town is dominated by the remains of the ancient Rocca, or Fortress. We recommend a visit to the watermills, which are still active and belong to the millers Mengozzi and Biondi. Because of its beauty and natural setting, Premilcuore boasts of the "Orange Flag", a symbol of tourism and environmental quality. From Premilcuore, we'll head into the Casentino Forests Park, along a thick network of paths that you can travel on foot or on horseback.

 

DAY 3 – SAN GODENZO

The following day, we recommend a visit to San Godenzo, (25 km from Premilcuore, 40 km from Firenze), and its beautiful Abbey built in 1028, at the behest of the Bishop of Fiesole, Jacopo the Bavarian.

On the 8th of June 1302, the Abbey held a meeting that became famous and is still remembered in the history of Italian Literature: the meeting between the exiled Florence Ghibellines and the White Guelphs, including Dante Alighieri. The objective was to find an agreement with the Ubaldini so they could come back to Florence, which at the time was ruled by the Black Guelphs. The deliberations were unsuccessful: shortly afterwards, there was a bitter clash between White and Black Guelphs with the defeat of the former, while Dante reached the decision to break away from his Florentine friends ("compagnia malvagia e scempia") and "di far parte per se stesso" (as he recalls in his Divine Comedy).

This Abbey is one of the most important examples of Romanesque architecture in Tuscany. The exterior features a clear stone façade with a preceding stairway. The interior is vast and solemn: three naves with square pillars and a raised presbytery, with three apses.