Italian partner introduction Our area Our area Our

Italian partner introduction: Our area

Our area Our Nation is Italy, it’s like a big boot. In Italy there are 20 regions, we live in Tuscany, near the city of Florence (about 30 km).

Rignano sull'Arno is a municipality with 8. 500 inhabitants. Troghi is a village, 6 km away from Rignano Incisa in Val d’Arno is a municipality with 6. 500 inhabitants.

INCISA IN VAL D’ARNO Incisa in val d’Arno is a small town with about 4. 200 inhabitants in the district of Florence. It’s located on the banks of the Arno river, between the Pratomagno mountains and the Chianti hills. Around the country there are findings of the Etruscan age that formed the first inhabited village. During the Roman age, the village became more important because of its proximity to the most important roads. There also remains of the medieval age, like the Torre del Castellano castle.

In our area there are many historical buildings: churches and castles

Chiesa di S. Alessandro - St. Alessandro Church The church of St. Alessandro in the center of our little town, near the Town Hall. It was built in 1786 on the old Oratory of the Company of Corpus Christi. The main door was made for the Oratory in 1500. Inside there is a small crucifix made in 1700 and a painting of Andrea di Giusto, a painter of Masaccio school.

Chiesa dei Santi Cosma e Damiano St. Cosma and Damiano Church The church of Saints Cosma and Damiano was built in 1514 in the place where there was a hospice for travelers, who later became a convent. Inside the church there is a large organ, a pottery bas-relief sculpture made by Donatello school representing the Madonna and the Child, and paintings representing saints and other religious subjects made during 1700.

Oratorio del Crocifisso - Oratory of the Crucifix The Oratory of the Crucifix was founded in the 14° century as a chapel annexed to the Hospital of St. Lawrence. Inside there is a wooden crucifix made in 1500. Since 2002, it hosts the Museum of Sacred Art of Incisa in Val d'Arno. There are collections of paintings and vestments from the churches that were in the nearby countryside.

Casa di Francesco Petrarca - Francesco Petrarca’s house This is the ancestral home of the famous poet Francesco Petrarca (1304 - 1374) which gave his name to our school.

Pieve di S. Vito - St. Vito parish Few kilometers from Incisa there is the parish church of St. Vito in Loppiano, one of the oldest churches in the Valdarno valley. The present building, in Romanesque style, dates from the twelfth century. Inside there are paintings, the most important is a panel with the Madonna of the Belt, made by Francesco d'Antonio, in 1400.

Torre del Castellano – Castellano Tower On a hill near Incisa there is a castle built in the Middle Age. It has a square base and two towers, one of them seems not finished. Over time it has undergone many changes and has had various owners. In 927 it passed to the Counts Guidi and then to the Castellani family from which it took its current name: Torre del Castellano.

RIGNANO SULL’ARNO and TROGHI Our villages are surranded by the countryside and they lay on the hills, that are in the most of Tuscany. In our area cycling is very tiring because there are steep climbs and dizzy descents! If you have a walk in our countryside, you can see many trees: cypresses, oaks, long rows of vines and olive trees: we produce an excellent wine and a good oil. You should taste our bread with oil and you could, if adults, have a nice glass of red wine. During the walk you may meet many animals: pheasants, hares, foxes, porcupines and some wild boars.

Rignano sull’Arno

Near Rignano school there is the Arno river, the longest one in Tuscany. The Arno touches important cities like Florence and Pisa. The Arno is a river enough deep and large, in fact in some places you can go by canoe or boat.

Modern sculptures in Rignano In square 25 aprile there is a fountain with a sculpure made by Aligi Sassu representing Poseidon who gives the horse to Athena. On the road near town hall there is the sculpture of Chimera, made by Mirko Basaldella.

Il ponte Mediceo - The Medici bridge It was built in 1300. Since the banks are not still, the bridge very often needed of repairs, also in recent times. The most famous were: in 1568, under Cosimo I de 'Medici, when it was restored by the architect Bernardo Buontalenti and took the name of Medici bridge; again in the years 1611, 1694, 1754, 1781, 1794, 1862. In 1944 it was bombed during the second world war (as all the bridges over the Arno, except the Ponte Vecchio) and was rebuilt in 1947. Because of the fragility of the bridge, it’s still not allowed to all vehicles to pass. The bridge is long about 65 m and width about 7, 50 m.

La pieve di San Leolino - Saint Leolino parish It was built in the 11° century, but only the present apse is original. It is a Romanesque church, the apse is to the east because the church was illuminated during the morning mass and front is to the west because the people find the light at the exit of the Mass in the evening. Under the church there was a natural crossing of Arno river. San Leolino is the patron saint of Rignano who lived in the third century. Leolino, while he was preaching the gospel in our territories, was arrested and martyred. Later his cult expanded a lot. On the hill above the church there was a castle, of which a few ruins remain.

La Torre dell’Isola - The Island Tower Near Rignano, a few meters from the banks of the Arno river, stands a medieval tower (1100 approx). Built near a ford, it’s so named from a little island that had formed on the river Arno. The bulding became later a lord’s house when it was bought in 1580 by the Florentine family of Pepi.

Il Castello di Sammezzano – Sammezzano castle Many rich and important ancient Florentine families have owned the castle, including the Medici. It is said that Charlemagne have slept in the ancient castle, in 780, during a return trip from Rome where he had visited the Pope The Sammezzano Castle owes its current appearance to Panciatichi Nicholas, who was a big fan of the Arab culture and architecture. Outside the villa recalls the model of the Taj Mahal, while the halls, in the Moorish style, is inspired by the Alhambra in Granada. After the second world war the castle became a luxury hotel. It is currently in a state of neglect. You can visit the inside only when they are guided tours, but you can freely enter the park. The park is among the largest in Tuscany. Panciatichi enriched it with rare and exotic plants. Today many of the original plants no longer exist, but some species have been introduced again. Important details are the giant sequoias, all over 35 meters high.

Villas and farmhouses During the centuries many urban noble and rich families bought land in the countryside where they built the beautiful villas, that became the summer residence of these families. The villa, like the ancient feudal castle, was built at the center of the land. Beside a small church was built near and around there were the garden and the park with woods. The land was divided into farms: on each stood a farmhouse where the farmers lived in the farm working. One part of villa or a detached building served as a farm, used to store the products of the various estates. The factor company organized and supervised the work, kept the accounts. Today many of these villas are divided into apartments or converted into hotels.

Le case coloniche - The country houses In our countryside there are many houses built from 1200 onwards. Of course the time changed their appearance. In these houses, formerly owned by the noble citizens, the farmers lived. The farmers lived in big houses, in extended families (patriarchal) and their job was to cultivate fields with wheat, vines and olive trees for himself and his master. After a period of neglect, from 1960 these houses were recovered and there are many families who have moved from city to live there permanently. Some of the most beautiful country houses have become farm holidays.

Troghi is a village near Florence, in the municipality of Rignano sull’Arno. It’s located in a very narrow valley surranded by the hills, along the old road that went from Firenze to Arezzo. During the Middle Ages, here there was the ancient Francigena road. The pilgrims went through this road to reach the sanctuaries. Nowadays we can see some ruins of this road, like part of a little bridge and a piece paved with stones. On the hills there are wonderful villas, like “Merlaia” and “Torre a Cona”.

Torre a Cona is an impressive villa located on the hill near the school and the village of Troghi. The villa was built in 1700 by Rinuccini count, around one thousand year old medieval tower, the only remain of an ancient castle. The tower is the only medieval building left of an ancient castle built in the eleventh century. In front of the villa there is a beautiful and important garden in which you can admire two huge old atlas cedars. Two beautiful semicircular ramps connecting the villa with a large driveway. On the left side of the villa there is a huge park with native trees such oaks and cypresses, along the paths there are mythological statues. Today the villa is a prestigious and important farm, that produces good quality wine and oil.