Castel Focognano

Etruscan borderland

Rassina, which, as its name suggests, comes from 'Rasenna', or Etruscans, is the zone of Casentino where this ancient civilisation seems to have been most important. According to some the Rassina torrent represented the northern limit of the control exercised by the lucumon (magistrate) of Arezzo.

In the past Rassina was probably an important Arno crossing, particularly for livestock, with transhumance routes stretching from the Apennine crests all the way to the Tyrrhenian Sea.

This hypothesis seems to be confirmed by the finding, near Pieve Socana across the river, of an Etruscan temple with a large sacrificial altar, which must have emerged from a local milieu to become, like 'Lago degli Idoli' on Monte Falterona, a worshipping place of broader importance.

Since ancient times, Rassina and Socana have constituted the two ends of an important road junction at a point where the Arno was narrower and easier to cross. Passage was obligatory, whether one followed the Arno valley lengthwise, parallel to the river, or cut across it, through the Rassina and Salutio valleys. Old works of art show that a large, eight-span bridge used to exist here, later destroyed.

Owing to its strategic position, Rassina long acted as a centre of trade, initially as the market-place of the castle that stood above it, of which only ruins remain. Later it was an administrative centre, site of the community chancery from 1603, and a place where the products of the nearby mountain villages were sold.

If Rassina represents the most important settlement in this area, the historical supremacy must surely go to Castel Focognano, where historical records show a 'castrum' existed from the early 11th century. A lone polygonal tower survives, now a tiny museum dedicated to the culture and customs of the Casentino district.

Farther up the slopes of the Pratomagno is the village of Carda, perched on a hilltop and arranged concentrically around a church.

Another centre worthy of note is the little village of Salutio, which gets its name from the old parish church dedicated to Sant'Eleuterio. Also in the vicinity is the interesting Oratorio di Santa Maria in Bagno, linked to ancient water cults.

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