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Parco dei Monti Rognosi e della Valle del Sovara

The “Parco dei Monti Rognosi e della Valle del Sovara” is one of the most peculiar and evocative natural park in the Tuscan Tiber Valley. With his extension of roughly 150 km2 (roughly 58 sq mi), it includes the Natural Reserve of Monti Rognosi and the nearby area. The mountain chain, easily recognizable for its morphology and its uneven landscape, is located north-west of Anghiari and it is framed by the Alpe di Catenaia, located north of Arezzo, and the Apennines. What makes the Monti Rognosi so unique is their geological composition: they are entirely composed of ophiolites (from ancient Greek ophis, snake, and lithos, stone), a particular volcanic stone, prevalently green or black, on which it is recognizable a unique flora, with endemic and highly specialized species. These rocks had a really important role for the people living nearby, which used them to quarry both copper and stone for their buildings.

The strategic placement of Monti Rognosi, between the Tiber Valley and the city of Arezzo, and the presence of mines made this area an important route. The park straddles on the ancient Via Ariminiensis, an imperial roman road which linked Arezzo and Rimini passing through Ponte alla Piera. The road has remained almost the same since then, for it has been frequently used by shepherds during the transhumance towards the Maremma. That’s why the road is also known nowadays as Via Maremmana. The proof of the strategic role the area had during the Middle Age is the presence of two castles: the Castello di Montauto, still visible today, and the Castiglion Fatalbecco, which is unfortunately destroyed and nowadays only the ancient foundations are visible.