The National Park of Casentino

The national park of Forest Casentinesi, Falterona Mountains and Campiglia extends for approximately 36.000 hectares and is divided between Florence and Arezzo in Tuscany and Forlì in Romagna. In the last centuries many inhabitants of the place gave their life to take care of the forest, or just trying to take advantage of them for pure economic purposes. Still today, the guides of the park live and grow in this natural habitat, jealous caretaker of the atmosphere and the silence of this place. From 1914, when the Italian state acquired the Casentine forests in order to re-unite it to the forest of Camaldoli, it is begun a process of reconstruction and widening in such way to improve and to reawaken this place. Inside the national park there are beautiful natural reserve like Sasso fratino, woods of silver fir chestnut grove beech woods pine trees which surround Campigna La Lama, il Passo della Calla, Badia Prataglia and Camaldoli. The forest is rich of fauna: in numerous rivers you can find trout's, crow fishes and crabs. Among the birds you can see eagles, buzzards and owls; in the inferior quotas you can find wolves, roes and fallow deer. The visitor who go trough the national park without a strict itinerary but trying to pick the spirit of the life in this area, from the quiet of the forest of Camaldoli until Verna, from the medieval villages to the ruins of the castles he will be able to catch the fantastic and delicate balance between man and his land.

Informations:

 - Association park's guide Badia Prataglia tel 0575.591188

 - Museum of forests Camaldoli tel 0575.556014

 - Museum of forests of flora and fauna "Carlo Semioni" Badia Prataglia opening: 9-13 16.30-22 tel 0575-559054

Contacts: Il Borgo di Ombretta Stoppioni Via di Caiano 66/b Caiano - 52018 Castel San Niccolò - Arezzo - Tuscany - Italy

 Tel. +39 0575 553027 - Fax +39 0575 553002 - email info@borgocaiano.com - Partita IVA 05150970480