The Casentino is the valley in which the first tract of the river

Arno The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber. Source and route The river originates on Monte Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a ...

flows to Subbiano,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It is one of the four valleys (alongside

Valdarno The Valdarno is the valley of the river Arno, although this name does not apply to the entire river basin. Usage of the term generally excludes Casentino and the valleys formed by major tributaries. Some towns in the area: * Rignano sull'Arno * ...

Valdichiana The Val di Chiana, Valdichiana, or Chiana Valley is an alluvial valley of central Italy, lying on the territories of the provinces of Arezzo and Siena in Tuscany and the provinces of Perugia and Terni in Umbria. Geography The Val di Chiana is ...

, and

Valtiberina Valtiberina is a valley crossed by the upper course of the Tiber (which originates from Monte Fumaiolo in Emilia-Romagna), unfolding between Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

) in which the Province of Arezzo is divided. Mount Falterona, from which the Arno starts, represents the northern boundary between the Casentino and Romagna. On the east of the valley are the Alpe di Serra and the Alpe di Catenaia, which separate the Casentino from the highest tract of the Valtiberina. On the west there is the Pratomagno, which separates the valley from the

Superiore. Part of the valley is included in the

Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona, Campigna National Park The Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona, Campigna is a national park in Italy. Created in 1993, it covers an area of about , on the two sides of the Apennine watershed between Romagna and Tuscany, and is divided between th ...

. It can be said that the valley has an oval form, with an extension across the river that varies from a maximum of to a minimum of . The topography of the Casentino is especially various, including both plains and mountains rich in large forests. These mountains have often attracted great saints: it was here that St. Romuald built his hermitages at Camaldoli, and that less than two centuries later St. Francis of Assisi established the Sanctuary of

La Verna La Verna ( la, Alverna is a locality on Mount Penna ( it, Monte Penna), an isolated mountain of situated in the centre of the Tuscan Apennines, rising above the valley of the Casentino, central Italy. The place is known especially for its ass ...

, the headquarters of the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

order. The valley's biggest ''

comuni The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' are all located in the Arno valley: among these the biggest are

Bibbiena Bibbiena () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany (Italy), the largest town in the valley of Casentino. It is located from Florence, from Arezzo, from Siena, and from the Sanctuary of La Verna. There are approximately 11 ...

and

Poppi Poppi () is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Arezzo in the Italian region Tuscany, located about east of Florence and about northwest of Arezzo. Poppi borders the following municipalities: Bibbiena, Castel Focognano, Castel San N ...

, while Capolona,

Castel Focognano Castel Focognano is ''comune'' in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany, central Italy. The comune lies in the Casentino valley on the left bank of the River Arno. Although it is named after a village on the slopes of the Alpe di Catenaia, the mun ...

Castel San Niccolò Castel San Niccolò is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Arezzo in the Italian region Tuscany, located about northwest of Arezzo and about east of Florence. Castel San Niccolò borders the following municipalities: Castelfranco Pia ...

Pratovecchio Pratovecchio Stia is a ''comune'' in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany. It was formed by the merger of the two former ''comuni'' of Pratovecchio and Stia in 2014. History Dono di Paolo, father of the Florentine artist Paolo Uccello, was a barber-su ...

Stia Piazza Tanucci at Stia. Stia is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Pratovecchio Stia in the Province of Arezzo in the Italian region Tuscany, located about east of Florence and about northwest of Arezzo. It was an independent commune until i ...

, Subbiano are more or less smaller. The villages located on the neighbouring hills and mountains are much smaller. These are Chitignano,

Chiusi della Verna Chiusi della Verna is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Arezzo in the Italian region Tuscany, located about east of Florence and about north of Arezzo. It is in the Casentino traditional region. Chiusi della Verna borders the foll ...

Montemignaio Montemignaio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Arezzo in the Italian region Tuscany, located about east of Florence and about northwest of Arezzo. Montemignaio borders the following municipalities: Castel San Niccolò, Pelago, ...

, Ortignano Raggiolo and Talla. The Casentino is mentioned in the song "Ich hab in Penna einen Liebsten wohnen", from the ''Italieniches Liederbuch'' by Hugo Wolf.

Bibliography

* Valleys of Italy Valleys of Tuscany Geographical, historical and cultural regions of Italy Province of Arezzo {{Arezzo-geo-stub

See also

Bibliography