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.
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