Tuscany, Arezzo, Talla, Italy

Campovecchio is a locality of the Talla commune in the Arezzo province located in the heart of Casentino National Park along the roads that lead to the Pratomagno Massif and to the Crocina Wall, one of the most uncontaminated places in Tuscany. Here, the connection with nature is preponderant: The greens and many other colors from the agriculture downhill, which give space to the oak woodlands and beech trees that rise up and disappear into the mountain’s grassy ridge. In this scene, little villages erect, including the two big vivid centers of Camaldoli and the Verna. It is amongst these landscapes that Leonardo Da Vinci seems to have painted Monalisa. The village, momentarily uninhabited, is composed of a main building that probably englobed the Ancient Roman castle, and another eight buildings habitable or accessorized that are all in need of restructuring action. Built on a rocky spur that elevates from a convergence of the Lavanzone e Crognolino creeks, the first building was most likely a church dating back to around 1100, dedicated to the Saint Appollinare. Therefore, the church of Roman times, has one window situated in the center of the apse of Byzantine origin, of which in May, light enters directly from the sun, illuminating the entire interior. The bronze bell nestled in the bell-tower, original from 1000, stroking its’ chimes until they are lost into the valley. The place’s charm grows all around the church, which rests on just one boulder of stone. The houses lay along the oldest road that connected the Cassia Vetus of Valdarno to Flaminia Minor and all the way down towards Ancient Rome, and to where all the town’s constructions are connected to. The name Campovecchio seems to derive from an old military language most likely due to the presence of a military station of the Byzantines that once descended from Casentine-Romagnol Appennines and had created a series of armed outposts on the Pratomagno ridge, thus controlling many transit routes in order to fight against the longboard tribe’s advancing. The place is surrounded by forests and agricultural land properties for a total of 112 hectares, nourished by a water spring that flows into the property with a constantly during the twelve-month span. It is situated about half an hour from Arezzo or from the highway exit A1 Valdarno, at about one hour from Florence and Siena. The main access street is private and of exclusive use. It is found only 15 minutes away by car from the stunning Relais II Borro propriety of the Ferragamo family, goal of horse-riding, gold, and spa enthusiasts. It is a place where time doesn’t seem to go by, where nature’s sounds surmount thoughts and where the perceived mysticism is the product of the passing history that has left uncontaminated the nature around.