Home About us Service Information Open Lab srl
TuscanyDream/Tuscan Itineraries/Terre del Levante

Handicrafts
The best Artisan Masters show their works through their art
Tuscan products
Food, wine and natural products of Tuscany's lands
Tourism and Accomodations
A little guide, but even a real help in order to organize an unforgettable journey
Italian Minds
The italian style, famous all over the world, full of original and fine ideas
Tuscan Itineraries
The easiest and quickest way to know Tuscany
Leafing through the
pages of Tuscany
Tuscany through Editori dell'Acero's books
Tuscany - Pelago
communication, and the expansion of the nearby city, modified the social reality of this area, which was divided between a residential identity, guaranteed by the beauty of the area, and a productive identity, that was based on the artisan (leather and wood) work and small industries (electrical, mechanical and chemical). The landscape is hilly, characterized by vineyards and olive groves, and by a considerable forest coverage at the higher altitudes. This area has a great variety of landscapes which provide the ideal setting for those who love to move in contact with nature. Starting from the valley bottoms of the Sieve and Arno rivers, it is possible to ascend along the hills and upland plains cultivated with vines and olive trees, alternating with large extensions of woods, and finally arrive on the pre-Apennine ridges which are covered with snow in the winter. The Arno and Sieve rivers offer the possibility of pleasing trips by canoe, of average difficulty, an activity most enjoyable in the springtime. Throughout the area, they are numerous active equistrian centers which look after many hiking trails of varying difficulty: from the beginners to the most learned hikers. Great opportunities for cyclists and for mountain bike enthusiasts. A network of paths, marked out by the CAI and other groups, enable hikers to go on excursions of differing challenges and varying durations. The woods house a quantity of plant and animal species and a dense population of ungulates: roe deer, wild boar, at the higher altitudes fallow and red deer.
Itinerary Pontassieve e Valle del Sieci
The name, (Terre del Levante Fiorentino), indicates the territory which occupies the nord-east part of the Florentine province and is made up of the Communes of Pelago, Pontassieve, Reggello e Rignano sull'Arno. Its natural boundaries are: to the north, Monte Giove (992m) and the dorsal of Pratomagno (Poggio Uomo di Sasso, 1538m), and to the south, the chain of mountains of Chianti (Poggio di Firenze 693m). The area, which was inhabited in prehistoric times, shows a considerable presence of Etruscans, testified to by numerous archaeological findings; it was massively colonised during Roman times, testified to by many place names and also by a large quantity of findings. During the Early Middle Ages, it was dominated by the Counts Guidi and series of their vassals, who filled the hills with their castles. The feudal society then gave way to the inevitable rise of the Commune of Florence, which reorganised our countryside into the Leagues of Diacceto, Monteloro, Rignano, and Cascia. The ancient nobles were replaced by nouveau-riche citizens (the Albizzi, Portinari, Gondi, Pazzi, Guadagni, Castellani families) who, in the centre of their holdings strewn with characteristic farm houses, built valuable villas-cum-farm houses. These families are today still
involved in the production of the renowned local wines. From the mid 19th century on, with the building of new roads and railways and with the development of industrial activities - glass works, cement factories, brickyards, railway workyards, wine cellars - the towns in the valley bottom acquired greater importance. The transition of post-industrial from the development of means of

Links on Tuscanydream site may take you outside our network, and Open Lab srl accepts no responsibility
for the content, accuracy or function of these sites; the links are provided in good faith, and we cannot be held
responsible for any subsequent change in sites to which we link.
All materials, trademarks or other intellectual property on this site are either the property of Open Lab srl,
or are used with the authorization of the owners, and are subject to copyright
Tuscanydream logo is a trademark of Open Lab srl - All rights reserved -
© Copyright Open Lab srl. 2001