The Surrounding Area
Beautiful places to visit around Agriturismo Il Poggio
The part of the Tiber Valley which is located in Tuscany consists of that portion of land wedged between the regions of Emilia Romagna, Umbria, and the Marches.
A borderland, a land of passage, and a land of contrasts and history.
The Tiber Valley is not only rich in nature: all its land is scattered with the remains of its past civilization and its religious and cultural heritage. Parishes, churches, castles, and ancient villages are inserted harmoniously in the territory, and numerous archeological remains are preserved in the museums of the valley.
Today the Tiber Valley remains a hub of craft activities, special events, and artistic and cultural initiatives of various kinds that attest to its intellectual brilliance.
Throughout the year there are several exhibitions, festivals, concerts, and markets — especially with the arrival of summer, music performances, theater, and other events among the ancient walls, alleys, and squares of historical centers.
Sansepolcro
Sansepolcro, the nearest town, is only 7 minutes by car from the farmhouse
there are restaurants, bars, supermarkets, a post office, banks, delis, markets for local products, pharmacies, and Internet access.
The city is known for being the birthplace of Piero della Francesca, one of the most important painters of the Renaissance, who represented the landscapes of the Tiber Valley in his paintings. Some of his most famous paintings can be seen in the Museum: the Resurrection, St. Julian, and Our Lady of Mercy.
Interessanti anche il Museo del Merletto (dedicato all’arte che ha reso Sansepolcro famosa nel mondo), il Museo di Aboca Erbe e il Museo delle Vetrata Antica.
September is the month when the town explodes in its ancient colors and sounds. Each year in September, Sansepolcro hosts the Crossbow and Flag Games. During this time visitors wil
Each year in September, Sansepolcro hosts the Crossbow and Flag Games. During this time visitors will be transported to the Renaissance, with costumed ceremonies, historical parades, and processions. The highlight of the Festival is the Palio of the Crossbow, which is held on the second Sunday of September in the town’s main square.v The towns of Sansepolcro and Gubbio challenge each other with these lethal weapons from many centuries ago, which require immense skill and precision to manage.
Anghiari
Anghiari, sitting on a hill overlooking the valley with breathtaking views, is considered one of the most beautiful medieval villages in Italy.
At Anghiari, traditional arts and crafts still survive, and the city has a prestigious position in the activities of cultural and historical antiques and hand weaving.
Its famous Arts and Crafts Fair takes place in May, in the narrow alleys of the old town, in its squares, and in its old workshops
Monterchi
Monterchi is an ancient medieval village, with picturesque streets and squares.
It is located on a hill, in a place considered sacred by the ancient Romans for the mythological relationship with the figure of Hercules.
In its museum, the fresco of the Madonna del Parto by Piero della Francesca is kept. It was made by the artist in his mother’s hometown, around 1445, and was later rediscovered in 1888.
During the summer months, you can attend outdoor music concerts.
Pieve Santo Stefano
A little village full of traditions, in which many festivals and sporting events are held in the Summer.
It is home to the Diary Museum.The Piccolo Museo del Diario (Little Museum of Diaries) is an intense multisensory and interactive journey born to tell the story of the National Archive of Diaries of Pieve Santo Stefano and its precious autobiographical stories.
The setting innovatively engages the visitors and takes them by the hand through the writings of common people who tell the story of Italy from a personal point of view. Private memories become collective and universal stories, thus joining the major historical narrative and intertwining with it, so to speak, with “history written from below”. Memories, letters, and diaries bypass the filter of rhetoric and make us understand the world we live in.
[Photo by: @fr4n_88]
Caprese Michelangelo
This town was the birthplace of Michelangelo Buonarroti, from whom the town takes its name.
The village is located in an elevated position, on a rock overlooking the surrounding area. In the Casa del Podestà, the birthplace of the famous painter, there is now a museum that collects several masterpieces by Michelangelo together with works by contemporary artists.
[Photo by @valentinamanicardi]
Cortona
Cortona is a charming town located in Valdichiana, 30 km from Arezzo, famous for being the setting of the bestselling book Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes.
The city, enclosed by stone walls dating to Etruscan and Roman times, boasts interesting places to visit as well as wonderful views of Trasimeno Lake.
Citerna
The medieval village of Citerna is located in the province of Perugia and surprises visitors with highly suggestive walkways, walls, towers, and a complex system of tunnels.
Castrum Cisternae, of ancient Etruscan origins, was one of the Byzantine fortifications built, with Monterchi, between the 6th and 7th centuries.
Continuously contested for its strategic position, it still preserves the memory of its noble history in the walls, in the medieval walkways, and in the acropolis that overlooks the town, the memory of its noble history.
Monasteries and Sanctuaries
Convento di Montecasale
A sacred building that stands on one of the first hills of the Umbrian Apennines, overlooking the upper Tiber Valley a few kilometers from Sansepolcro. According to tradition, its origins date back to 1192, the year in which the Camaldolese built, on the remains of an ancient castle, a small hermitage with a hospital and a hospice for pilgrims who traveled the road that crossed the Alpe della Luna and descended along the Marche side.
The complex preserves the primitive layout of the most ancient Franciscan convents and it is a notable example of poor architecture, inspired by the simplicity of life of the religious.
Eremo e Monastero di Camaldoli
It rises 818 meters above sea level and is located on the banks of one of the branches of the Archiano River, mentioned by Dante Alighieri (Purgatorio, canto V, verse 94). It was built starting in 1046 when the monks built a small hospital near the church.
Among the works of art present inside the church, seven tables made by Giorgio Vasari stand out.
Percorsi Franscescani
The Upper Tiber Valley is deeply linked with the spirituality of St. Francis. To testify even today are the numerous Hermitages and Monasteries that meet along the path that St. Francis himself made to reach Assisi.
Santuario della Verna
The Franciscan Sanctuary of La Verna, located a few kilometers from Chiusi della Verna, is famous for being the place where St. Francis of Assisi received the stigmata on September 17, 1224, and represents one of the hearts of the Franciscan cult. The Sanctuary is the destination of many pilgrims and hosts numerous chapels and places of prayer and meditation.
It is possible to access several areas of the Sanctuary and admire the suggestive panorama of the Casentino Valley.