Antient road of Valibona

The Calvana way

Before the middle ages there was a complete absence of any form of permanent settlements on the crest of the Calvana. It was during the medieval period that it became possible to see, even on the higher slopes of the ridge, small inhabited nuclei appearing, connected initially by a minor road network, which functioned as a simple link with the bottom of the valley. The strong impulse to construct larger and more lasting sites, which no longer functioned as links but as crossings, came when all the area came under the control of the powerful feudal family of the Alberti. They, in fact, needed to connect their properties in Val Bisenzio with those of Western Mugello and therefore make the already existing road network more powerful. Two roads in particular were reorganised which, from Prato, crossed the Calvana to reach the Croci di Calenzano and from there to the Mugello. The first, the via di Valibona for the Rio Buti valley ; the second, the via di Cavagliano, for the Poggio Camerella. The two routes are well conserved and for long stretches the original paving is still visible, as are many antique workings which allowed also for the passage of carts. In particular, the historic ways of constructing the via di Valibona are visible along the Rio Buti Valley, where the road is strengthened by powerful walls and long stretches of paving.

Text and picture: Cinzia Pezzani & Sergio Grillo
Translation: Jeremy Carden