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Along the Via Abversa - Guido Monaco
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| The territory of Talla,
drained by the Salutio torrent, which joins the Arno near
Santa Mama, is a valley to itself. Distant from the main road at the bottom of the Arno valley and the small factories scattered here and there along the river, one enters, as is the case with the many other valleys branching out from the Pratomagno (Solano, Teggina), a world where time passes more slowly, where the rhythms of man seem to harmonise with those of the lush countryside. In the past the town of Talla must have had anything but a secondary role, resulting in the construction of a fortified nucleus today called "La Castellaccia", located on a hill at the confluence of two torrents to keep watch over the ancient "Via Abversa", which crossed the Capraia torrent and reached the Valdarno. Few traces remain of the ancient castle that stood at the top of the hill, while the little Church of San NiccolÚ, probably rebuilt in the 16th century and announced by a bell tower and tall cypresses, is still intact. |
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| According to tradition, as well as the opinions of ancient historians, this was the birthplace of Guido Monaco, inventor of the modern system of musical notation. |  ©
Photo: Andrea
Barghi |
| The town shares the valley with the quaint fortified clusters of Pontenano and Capraia and the village of Faltona, whose name has a clearly Etruscan etymology. Nearby stands a bridge - actually of mediaeval origin - that is said to have been used by Hannibal as he descended towards Rome. | |
| These tiny settlements are connected by a network of paths, probably retracing ancient routes, that climb the slopes of the Pratomagno to the ruins of the Badia di Santa Trinita in Alpe, confirming the importance of this abbey in the past. Built on the ancient road that cut through Casentino transversally, immersed in greenery and suspended in the silence of the woods, it is undoubtedly one of the valley's most charming spots. |  © Photo: Andrea Barghi |
