Territory and history
Is Montalbano, considered in a topographically literal way, a mountain range that separates the Piana Pistoiese from the depression of Fucecchio towards the North West? South East. Its highest peaks are Poggio Ciliegio (627 meters above sea level), Pietramarina (583 meters above sea level) and Montefiore (536 meters above sea level). Montalbano, in other words, separating from the Tuscan – Emilian Apennines at the Serravalle pass, divides the Pistoia and Florentine plain from the Val di Nievole. But Montalbano is not to be thought of as only hills. The flat foothills? it varies in geological formation and conformation, unique towards the Padule. This variety constitutes in itself? a strong attraction which, combined with the historical and artistic heritage of the area, makes Montalbano a place to visit, walk and get to know. At the level of vegetation linked to activities? productive, the vine and the olive tree stand out, while the spontaneous vegetation is well represented in the Lecceta di Pietramarina (Carmignano), composed of holm oaks, turkey oaks, downy oaks, hollies, cedars and a rich undergrowth of ivy, brambles, gnarled geranium, ferns and butcher’s broom. Also in the area south of Montalbano there is the so-called wooded scrub between Camaioni and Artimino. There grow domestic pines, cypresses, holm oaks, brooms, strawberry trees, heather and wild asparagus. Full of charm is the Stretta della Gonfolina, south-east of Montalbano, a real relief valve for the Arno basin. In front of the confluence of the Ombrone stream in the Arno river, near Carmignano, you can? admire the Masso delle Fate, a large layer of sandstone that tradition indicates as originating to facilitate the flow of water and avoid floods. Not far from Carmignano, in Quarrata,? It is possible to visit the Querciola area, including the lakes of Zela and Bigiana where storks, herons, egrets, black-winged stilts, red herons and marsh hawks nest. Interesting from the point of view of fauna and vegetation is the area corresponding to the Barco Reale, established in 1626 by the Medici as a hunting reserve bordered by 50 kilometers of wall (about 30 remain). The Barco Reale was disbanded in the 1960s. Inside, originally, lived pheasants, partridges, rock partridges, hares and wild boars and grew oaks, turkey oaks, chestnuts, mulberries, holm oaks, pines, elms, walnuts, cypresses and firs, as well as? various types of shrubs). Over time, the flora and fauna of the Barco Reale have undergone significant changes linked to the historical and management evolution of the place, but many of the listed animal and plant species still populate the ancient bandita.
And a visit to the Fucecchio Marshes is a must, a unique landscape area in Italy. Over 150 species of birds live in the Marshes, including herons, plover, wigeon, lapwing, hen, coot, mallard, cranes and black storks. The flora is typical of marshy or marshy environments and also includes a rare small carnivorous plant, the otricolaria. The Padule? a lowland, between the right bank of the Arno and the Apennines. Its historical swamping is linked to the floods of the Arno and forced men, over time, to take protective measures. The oldest of these measures dates back to 1279 and corresponds to an order for the demolition of mills, weirs and dams. And a must is Monsummano Terme, with its thermal baths, a masterpiece of nature, and with the paths that allow excursions on the homonymous hill. Monsummano is in fact a readable mirror of the geomorphological transformations that took place in the territory. In this regard, a real geological path has been studied between the paths of the territory. The Terme di Monsummano are developed around the Grotta Giusti, a place of rare beauty due to the presence of numerous stalactites and stalagmites, gravitating over a small lake of thermal waters. The cave has an extension of about 200 meters and? divided into three areas (called Paradiso, Purgatorio and Inferno). The internal temperature fluctuates between 31 C and 34 C, with a humidity level close to 100%. Natural mechanisms still to be ascertained guarantee a continuous exchange of air. The knowledge of the nature of Montalbano can not? apart from a visit to the numerous farms that dot the countryside. The agricultural landscape, arranged in terraces, tells of rural construction and human intervention in orderly and systematic plantations, aesthetically attractive both from the point of view of production history and from that of the landscape. Exemplary in this regard is the road called S. Lucia which connects San Baronto to Larciano, crossing the hills between oak woods and olive plantations, in a dominant position towards the Padule. Characteristics of the Tuscan agricultural landscape are the fences with dry stone walls, the terraces and the grassy edges. The settlement system? composed of small towns, where the oldest houses are often leaning against each other, and there are numerous scattered houses. The inhabited centers are small worlds and communicate, even visually, their historical matrix of autonomous response to needs (food, administrative, defense). The agricultural landscape of Montalbano, as it is legible from the nineteenth-century maps, was a territory mainly made up of chestnut woods, charcoal pits, mulberries, fruit trees, olive trees and vines. Currently, after decades of partial abandonment of wooded areas and an increasingly more? rational exploitation of cultivated land, the wood is regaining space (especially the chestnut tree), in harmony with the cultivated plots.
Marshes of Fucecchio:
A long history in nature, a consortium to protect it, a research center to spread knowledge
The area of the Fucecchio Marsh, geologically formed about 60 million years ago, derives from the outcrop from the sea of the current territory of the Val di Nievole. The original basin was gradually filled by the sediments of rivers. The numerous rivers and streams that run through the valley (the Pescia di Pescia, the Pescia di Collodi, the Pescia Nuova, the Borra, the Nievole and the Vincio), not finding an outlet for outflow, caused the swamping still evident today despite massive reclamation carried out over the centuries. The Padule is in fact the largest humid and marshy area in Italy, a real environmental heritage where a unique flora and fauna live throughout the peninsula. The vegetation includes Sarelli and Nymphoids, Fish Grass, Giant Ferns and also a rare example of a carnivorous plant (Bladder grass). The fauna includes herons of 4 different species, numerous other types of swamp birds and mice of the rice fields, just to name a few of the animals that give the Padule its identity as a space where nature? still sovereign. In order to promote awareness of the Marshes, the Fucecchio Marshes Research, Documentation and Promotion Center was founded in Castelmartini. Opened in 1990 for will? of the Province of Pistoia and with the contribution of the Tuscany region, it promotes initiatives aimed at the enhancement and conservation of the Marshes. The Center avails itself of the scientific help of various experts in natural, historical, social and didactic sciences. There are many schools that each year use the Center to learn about the characteristics of the Marsh through an environmental education laboratory carefully prepared according to two paths, one naturalistic and one historical? environmental. The Center also acts as a base for guided excursions in the Padule and Montalbano (Information: Tel. 0573.84540). Among the itineraries suggested by the Research Center, the? Le Morette? Naturalistic itinerary, to be carried out on foot, and the historical one? environmental, what can? also be done by car or mountain bike. The first ? recommended for lovers of birdwatching and environmental observation. On its way, the itinerary includes the Porto delle Morette, the Casotto del Criachi, the Casotto del Biagiotti, a place for wildlife observation. The historical itinerary? environmental leads, from the Cappiano Bridge to Fucecchio, Massarella, Anchione and Ponte Buggianese. (Details and insights can be found on the website www.zoneumidetoscane.it) The Consortium of Bonifica del Padule di Fucecchio, based in Ponte Buggianese, oversees the regimentation and management of the area. Its competence? extended over a drainage basin of 56,980 hectares, including administratively in the province of Pistoia (31,060 hectares), Prato (49 hectares), Florence (17,000 hectares), Lucca (4,620 hectares) and Pisa (4,200 hectares). The primary purposes of the Consortium are the maintenance of the hydraulic works and the hydraulic-environmental protection of the Marshes. In addition to the Padule, the Consortium also carries out its tasks on the Sibolla lake. The Padule proper has an extension of 1,800 hectares; its depth? maximum? of 3 meters. The Consortium has an Archive and a Museum, which testify the consortium documents and related interventions from the end of the eighteenth century to today. Its headquarters are located in Vione (info: 0572 93221).
The birds of the Marshes
Little Grebe, Bittern, Squacco Heron, Little Egret, Glossy Lizard, Lobster Goose, Shelduck, Gadwall, Gargane, Turkish Fistione, Tufted Duck, Common Gull, Tern, Wood Pigeon, Barn Owl, Swift, Swallow, Hoopoe, Cappellaccia, White Wagtail, Starling, Pesciaiola, Falco of Marsh, Red-footed falcon, Voltolino, Moorhen, Curlew Avocet, Woodcock, Whisk, Redshank, Blackbird, Robin, Salciaiola, Nightingale, Flycatcher, Pendolino, Long-tailed tit, Siskin, Millet, Great grebe Bittern, Gray heron, Flamingo , White stork, Bean goose, Mallard, Wigeon, Shoveler, Pochard, Wheatear, Seagull, Black Tern, Cuckoo, Owl, Mouse, Bee-eater, Green woodpecker, Pipit, Yellow wagtail, Red shrike, Black kite, Buzzard, Crane , Schiribilla, Coot, Golden Plover, Godwit, Snipe, Pantana, Fighter, Saltimpalo, Blackcap, Reed Warbler, Cannareccione, Fiorancino, Sweeper, Goldfinch, Finch, Cornacc gray hia Cormorant, Night heron, Purple heron, Spatula, Black stork, Wild goose, Teal, Northern pintail, Marbled duck, Tufted duck, Herring gull, Zampenere tern, Turtledove, Owl, Scops Owl, Martin, Kingfisher, Skylark, Prispolone, Yellow wagtail, Goosander, Harrier, Kestrel, Porciglione, Schiribilla grigiata, Knight of Italy, Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwit, Croccolone, Black squid, Wood pyro pyro, Whinchat, Castagnolo forapaglie, River nightingale, Lu? small, Basettino, Blue tit, Serin, Zigolo muciatto, Jay.
