Casentino

Casentino is a valley in Italy's Province of Arezzo where the Arno river rises before flowing on toward Subbiano, enclosed in an oval shape that spans between 30 and 60 kilometers across, bounded by Mount Falterona to the north, where the Arno originates, the Alpe di Serra and Alpe di Catenaia to the east, and Pratomagno to the west. Its landscape mixes open plains with forested mountains, part of which lies within the Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona, Campigna national park, and the surrounding heights drew major religious figures, including Saint Romuald, who founded the hermitage at Camaldoli, and Saint Francis of Assisi, who established the sanctuary of La Verna, later a headquarters of the Franciscan order. Bibbiena and Poppi are the valley's largest towns, with smaller settlements including Capolona, Stia, Subbiano, Chitignano and Chiusi della Verna.