ROUTES

The Valtiberina follows from its birth the blonde Tiber, and is a place full of memories of battles, encounters of Saints and Heroes. Dominates the Valley the Monte della Verna sacred to San Francesco who stopped there to pray, to be closer to God, Mount so dear to Michelangelo Buonarroti who placed it in the background of the Tondo Doni as if to remind men that he was born there.

It is certain that the high castles that surround the valley on all sides defend the secrets and stories of the many famous characters who have dwelt here. From San Francesco who, going from La Verna to Assisi, was hosted by the counts of Montauto giving him the opportunity to live in grace. It is said that the Counts of Montauto received in their sleep - three days before they died - the visit of a knight holding a lit torch.

Along the route - Via di San Francesco - there is another rock the Hermitage of Montecasale, a small gray stone where the Saint received the Holy Stigmata and met the three thieves. In 1440 in this strip of land, Guelfs and Ghibellines clashed in battle and of this memorable battle, Leonardo wanted to leave a memory in the Uffizi, stimulated by that mathematician Luca Pacioli, who, born in Sansepolcro, lived with him in Milan . Even today the famous fresco - The Battle of Anghiari - hidden inside the "Palazzo degli Uffizi" (so writes Vasari) waits to be found again.

The ghost Baldaccio in the castle of Sorci, tells of meetings between mercenaries who conspire now against the Pope, now against Lorenzo dei Medici. For this reason Pope Boniface, seizing the Bufalini Castle, placed it as a bulwark of the Papal State in order to observe the Medici, his feared neighbors. In these places in 1524 the "Rosso Fiorentino" was relegated, an eclectic artist who painted the "Deposition of Christ" the first example of a deposition, with the head turned downwards. In the same years the brothers Alberti and Raffaellin dal Colle painted masterpieces for the confraternities and for the curia, unique works now exhibited in the Museum of Sansepolcro and in the Cathedral. But famous was that Piero della Francesca who first laid the foundations of pictorial perspective by painting in the background of the Resurrection" the hills that at sunset are tinged with purple. The village gave birth to that Fra Luca Pacioli who first organized the study of accounting and who organized, thanks to polyhedra, the letters of the alphabet. The Summa and the Divine Proportion highlight the relationship between practical mathematics and theoretical mathematics that characterizes both the style and the content of Pacioli's works.

In these lands even today you can breathe the fighting spirit of proud people, dedicated to work and sacrifice that is reflected in the clean facades of houses, in the way of doing business, in lace, in gold, in furniture, in fabrics that fine artisans produce. Even today in the narrow medieval alleys of Anghiari, Sansepolcro, Citerna, glimpses of convent gates of cloistered nuns and austere palaces occupied by ancient lineages can be seen. Now the valley lives thanks to the cultivation and processing of tobacco, to the artisanal production of hams and sausages, to the production of pasta with a name for everyone: Buitoni (founded in 1827) as well as for the production of medicinal herbs collected by the well-known pharmaceutical-herbalist company Aboca. The production of gold and silver objects exhibited all over the world also remains important. Special mention should also be made of woven fabrics and lace, as well as the creation of products for hairdressers.

Financed with Funds ERDF - ROP 2014-2020 AXIS 3 and AXIS 8 – ACTION 3.2.1 and 8.2.1. UMBRIAPERTA: CALL FOR SUPPORT TO ACCOMMODATION ENTERPRISES Project CUP G88J21000110004 – COR 16006082

Whatsapp