Beyond the Apennines mountain pass, between Bologna and Firenze, we find Firenzuola. The town was built in 1350 by the Florentine Republic to protect the road to Florence from Bologna.
On September 17, 1944, after a long, bloody battle, the allies crossed the Gothic line and conquered Monte Altuzzo at the Giogo Pass. In ExSeminario building, there's an exibition dedicated to the War. A trip to Bruscoli and the Historical Ethnographic museum is perfect for history and archeology buffs. Here you will find traditional farm tools as well as war records and memorabilia from WWII.
Pietra Serena, the local grey sandstone, has been used for centuries to decorate squares, Florentine palazzo, and religious and municipal monuments throughout the territory. To preserve the history of stone making the cellars of the Rocca, fortress, are home to the Museo della Pietra Serena.
Firenzuola is today the ideal place for nature lovers who prefer the relaxing silence of the uncontaminated woods and lush fields for long treks on foot, horseback or by bike: along Via degli Dei to uncover the secrets of the military Flaminia, the ancient Roman road. In Moscheta in the “Giogo Casaglia” forestry complex you find thematic routes and the Museo del Paesaggio Storico dell’Appennino. In the Oasi di Covigliaio is it possible to see muflons, Sasso di Castro heights and the Covigliaio Museum, a private collection of objects from the past.
In Firenzuola you can find meat, organic spelt, white potatoes, and a taste of the excellent Tagliatelle with mushroom or wild game sauce; indeed, this is the land of the wholesome Mukki Mugello milk, and that we are on the Via del Latte (milk road)!
Art and faith
The Church of San Giovanni Battista in Firenzuola is situated on the ruins of the ancient church, destroyed during the Second World War. The new building was created by Carlo Scarpa and Edoardo Detti; inaugurated in 1966, it has modern and essential style. The church guards a rich patrimony of sculptures in ceramics by Salvatore Cipolla and the Crucifix of Camaggiore, wooden sculpture of the 12th century, s an important Romanesque testimony in Central Italy. Tel: +39 055 098 1994
Immersed in a vast green reserve rich in flora and fauna, we find St. Pietro in Moscheta Abbey, which holds an extraordinary portico. Founded in 1034 by the Blessed Rodolfo dei Galigai, of the Vallombrosian order, it is said that Galigai constructed a convent that was much too big and that it was destroyed by the flood of a nearby river, which swelled suddenly as a result of the prayers of the humble S. Giovanni Gualberto, founder of the new order.
In Cornacchia stands St. Giovanni Battista Decollato Parish Church on the important Medieval road with a typically Romanesque structure very similar to St. Agata Parish Church, on the opposite side of the Apennine watershed. It was restored in the 19th century and inside preserves early 20th century frescos. Tel. +39 055 8149459