This content was automatically translated. View the original text.
A stage on the Via Vallombrosa branch.
This stage hops from castle to castle: from the small but atmospheric fortress of Montemignaio, to the castle of Poppi. Both these fortifications once belonged to the powerful family of the Counts of Guidi, symbols not only for the town but of the whole of the Casentino.
Surrounded by chestnut groves and oak woods, the route leaves Montemignaio and leads to the chapel of the Maestà di Picche, passing over an ancient Romanesque bridge and along what in medieval times was the alternative route to Florence, from Arezzo to the Consuma Pass road.
From fortress to fortress, another fortified village surprises the traveller, about halfway along the route: Castel San Niccolò. A small, scattered municipality, its ancient castle is among the most beautiful and best-preserved in the Casentino. The castle, perched on a hill, also belonged to the Counts of Guidi.
Visible from much of the Casentino valley, the castle of the Counts of Guidi appears as imposing and intact as when it was first built. Also known as the castle of Poppi, the manor stands on a hill, dominating everything around it. It has borne witness to an important historical event: the Battle of Campaldino. This was a clash between the Guelphs and Ghibellines that took place in 1289, on the plain between Poppi and Pratovecchio. Dante Alighieri was among the soldiers
