From the hills of Val di Sieve to Vallombrosa

From Florence along the old via Aretina to Rovezzano, then continue on the state road which follows the Arno river. After passing the small villages of Girone and Compiobbi, follow the signs for Sieci, where at the Pieve di San Giovanni Battista at Remole, you will find the church built in 1100. Inside the church, in the chancel there is a tablet with crucifix, a work of art from the Botticelli school XV century)
Leaving Sieci you'll enter the town of Pontassieve, an antique Florentine castel then climb the Valle del Sieve, along the river (state road n.67 Tosco Romagnola.) As you get closer to Rufina, the valley gets wider. After passing through the town, stay right and follow signs for Pomino. The winding road offers spectacular views over the valley. In the town of Castiglioni there's the Pieve of S. Stefano, constructed in the XII century, which constitutes, as the Pieve di San Bartolomeo, a religious architecture of the romanesque Florentine fusion of elements stylistic to the culture of Lombardy with the tradition of late-antica. After following the same road, after the residential area of Rimaggio you'll enter in Pomino where the Pieve of san Bartolomeo was built in the XII-XIII century. Inside the church is a precious glazed terracotta of Luca della Robbia and a tablet '400 representing the Madonna with Bambino and Saints attributed to Maestro di S. Miniato.
Leaving Pomino continue for Borselli. Just before entering the village you'll see the church of S. Maria a Tosina - noted in 1038 - where the hermitage of the patronage Camaldoli practiced. Continuing south, on the state n. 70 of the Consuma, you'll arrive in Diacceto. Take the left road going to Pelago, the antique castle of count Guidi. In the central Ghiberti plaza, there is the church of S. Clement, rebuilt in 1782 by the Abbazia di Vallombrosa on the foundation of the oldest romanesque chapel.
The road continues to Vallombrosa, passing through the characteristic villages of Paterno and Tosi: here the road travels through natural forests, springs and small waterfalls and is home to various species of animals. The Abbazia di Vallombrosa is situated exactly in the middle of the splendid forest created and cured for centuries by the monks and declared in 1973 as a Biogenetic Natural Reserve. There are numerous works of art conserved in the Abbazia. A base-relief in the vestibule, fifteen oilcloths by Ignazio Hugford in the refectory, the choir stall is attributed to Francesco da Poggibonsi.
Leaving the Abbazia you'll drive down to Tosi and then to Donnini taking the provincial road called "seven bridges" which trace back and correspond to the Cassia Vetus, the old etruscan road, then roman and medieval. Along the road of the seven bridges you'll pass through little villages (Pieve di Pitiana and a few kilometers further on, Pieve di Sant'Agata in Arfoli, 2 km from Pietrapiana.) Following the signs for Figline Valdarno you will arrive, a few kilometers before Reggello at the Pieve di san Pietro a Cascia, a perfect example of romanesque architecture and well preserved.