The Beauty of Valdichiana
This beautiful diverse valley lies between the provinces of Arezzo and Siena in Tuscany and stretches into Umbria and beholds many of Tuscany’s magnificent medieval towns and picturesque views.
The 104km of the Valdichiana, is furrowed by the Canale Maestro della Chiana where it flows into the River Arno at the Buriano Bridge.
In Roman times, the water flowed into the Tiber, but the Etruscans were the first to create measures to navigate the waterways and exploit the land’s fertility and richness by planting wheat and soon the area was loving known as the ‘bread basket of Etruria’.
As time progressed, and with interventions from Florence, the water began to stagnate and the area became increasingly marshy until in the 13th century, Pietro Leopoldo started to reclaim the land, draining the land and returning it to it’s agricultural roots and this is what one sees today.
‘Fields of such beauty are impossible to find elsewhere, every lump of earth has been tiled to perfection, prepared for sowing. Wheat grows lushly on this soil, where it seems to find all the necessary conditions to thrive.’ Quote from Goethe’s Italian Journey
The richness of the land in Valdichiana is due to the many waterways and canals with one of the largest being the the ‘Canale Maestro della Chiana’ and with modern day enthusiasm for cycling and hiking, there is a trail that follows this canal known as the ‘path of reclamation’ or in Italian as Sentiero della Bonifica.
This path is nothing other than the road used in the past for the maintenance of the locks and canals and which in recent times has become a cycle path, completely unpacked, which unites Arezzo and Chiusi thanks to a route of approximately 65km, which is protected and therefore ideal for those who want to travel slowly, by bike and or on foot,
giving one the time to enjoy the picture postcard landscape and the areas that produce some of Tuscany’s renowned products such as wine, wheat, olive oil, truffles, fruit, cattle and also beholding some of Tuscany’s magnificent towns such as Lucignano, Monte San Savino and Civitella in Valdichiana along with the vast Abbey of Oliveto.
