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A recent settlement with ancient roots
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| The commune of Capolona
still faithfully reflects the bounds of the territory of
the ancient and powerful Abbey of Campoleone. From
the 11th century, the history of this land was tied to
the abbey, which enjoyed the emperor's protection and
whose possessions extended from Casentino to Lake
Trasimeno, rivalling the power of the neighbouring
commune of Arezzo. It reached its height during the 12th century, followed by a period of decline. By 1387, the abbey was inhabited by the abbot and a single monk. When it was finally abandoned the area lost its point of reference: the administrative centre fell vacant, and even the name of Campoleone was attributed to different localities, depending on the source. In more recent times, the ancient place-name Campum Leonis was given to a settlement that sprang up at the foot of the Castello di Caliano, built to control the bridge of the same name. The town has a fairly modern look, as shown by its public spaces and buildings. As we have seen, however, its roots go back a very long way, and they can be seen in the villages, ruined castles and churches that dot the surrounding landscape. Proceeding north from Castelluccio, an ancient fortified place, one can reach the 18th century villa called La Badia, the spot where the abbey and Campoleone Castle were located. In the vicinity, at a bend in the Arno, is another unexpected treasure: the Romanesque pieve of Santa Maria a SiËtina, which, with its Gothic and Renaissance frescoes, can be seen as a bridge between the primitive spareness of the parish churches of Casentino and the rich pictorial cycles of the churches of Arezzo. Through the charming rural hamlet of Santa Margherita one arrives at Pieve San Giovanni, which stands on a terrace overlooking the Arno Valley where the Pratomagno range, now reduced to hills, allows the river to pass. A short distance away is Ponte Buriano, which formed the backdrop to one of the world's best-known paintings, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. In the northernmost part of the communal territory, history has left other traces of its passage: Bibbiano and the Towers of Belfiore, with their picturesque ruined fortifications. |
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