Between Camaldoli and La Verna
The Casentino valley that borders Badia Prataglia to the north and Chiusi della Verna to the south is known as Vallesanta.
From every part of the valley, Monte Penna stands out with its distinctive rectangular silhouette, a feature characteristic of this valley, which takes its name from the peacemaking influence that St Francis had upon it.
At the end of the 19th century, the English traveller Enola Holmes described it as barren and inhospitable, and old photographs from the 1960s do indeed show it looking very different from how we see it today.
The fields and terraces that once sustained the local population’s agricultural economy have given way to the mixed and wild forests that now characterise large swathes of the more rural Apennines.
Abundant in water even during the driest periods of the year, the icy pools and waterfalls offer relief to the most intrepid walkers, whilst in the valley’s three main villages hospitality is never in short supply, with various establishments open to the public, each more characteristic than the last.
Of little historical significance and with scant mention in the sources, the Vallesanta has nonetheless always been a transit area, a much-used route; indeed, on its border with Romagna lies the Passo di Serra, one of the main mountain passes connecting the east and west of the Italian peninsula, divided by the Apennines.
Nowadays, thanks to the resurgence in popularity of pilgrimage and hiking, the pass is once again busy, and in Vallesanta, the Via Romea has brought a new wave of sustainable tourism.
