Montalbano Montalbano

The hilly area of Montalbano, characterized by gentle slopes adorned with vineyards and olive groves, and by forests of holm oaks and chestnut trees in the upper parts, extends north of Vinci over about 16,000 hectares, among the provinces of Florence, Prato, and Pistoia. Inhabited since prehistoric times and dotted with ancient Etruscan settlements and medieval castles, thanks to the work of man, it has been transformed through the centuries into the sort of “countryside-garden” typical of the Tuscan landscape.

As this area of great naturalistic value is a shelter for many animal species, it was selected between the 16th and 17th centuries by the Medici family, who closed off a large part of the territory, establishing the Barco Reale Mediceo as a hunting reserve, of which some portions of the perimeter walls still remain.

Montalbano is also the subject of Leonardo’s first landscape drawing, dated 5 August 1473, in which we can recognize the mountain slopes with the village of Montevettolini. Certainly the master frequented these hills over many years, giving rise to some fundamental ideas for his studies of geology and on the nature of fossils. His knowledge of this territory and of the nearby Fucecchio marshes is evidenced by the well-known 1503 maps of northwestern Tuscany and of the Arno Valley.

Today a destination for outdoor touring enthusiasts, Montalbano is crisscrossed by a dense network of hiking and biking paths leading to a ridge about 600 m above sea level, and allowing exploration of the most hidden corners of this beautiful natural area.