It covers about 35,000 hectares and stretches over two regions (Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna), three provinces (Forlì, Florence and Arezzo) and eleven towns (Bibbiena, Chiusi della Verna, Poppi, Pratovecchio and Stia are the ones in the province of Arezzo).

It is the realm of beeches and maples, deers and roe-deers, oaks and chestnuts, wild boars and peregrine falcons; it is the land where the Arno River rises; but it is especially one of the most important green regions in the Old Continent.

We are talking about the Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona e Campigna (National Park of Casentino Forest, Mount Falterona and Campigna).

The park is within easy reach from the town of the "Chimera" (but you could also decide to spend your holidays in an Aretine farmhouse standing in the park itself) and is an ideal destination for those want to relax in close contact with nature.

Due to its 600 kilometres of routes, it is a great spot for hikers, mountain-bikers and horse riders. Among the many things to see in the park are Mount Falco (1,658 metres above sea level) and Mount Falterona (1,654 metres above sea level), which are the highest mountains in the park; the Acquacheta waterfall - a drop of about 80 metres Dante mentioned in his "Divine Commedy" -; the hermitage and the monastery of Camaldoli (the former consisting in about twenty cells, where also Saint Francis of Assisi and to-be Pope Gregory IX lived; the latter featuring also an ancient pharmacy founded in 1543); and the Franciscan sanctuary of La Verna, where Saint Francis of Assisi received his stigmata in 1224.

Naturally, in this corner of Tuscany you can discover plenty of delicacies, such as the "tortelli sulla lastra" (fresh tortelli filled with potatoes, eggs and lard cooked on a hot stone slab), the "gota" (made with the pig`s chaps), "acquacotta" (a soup prepared with stale bread, broth, sausage and tomatoes), you can then taste in your holiday villa in Arezzo