Cortona and the Valdichiana
Man first appeared in the Valdichiana as early as 150000 years ago during the Lower Paleolithic Period and populated what was in ancient times known as Etruria, an area including the Valleys of Tiber, Arno and Clanis, the rivers which the whole of the valley owes its life to. The valley was later on crossed by a number of Etruscan and Consular roads that allowed it to thrive and develop to be an important area. The Valdichiana enjoyed back then a strategic position within the Roman Empire due to its vicinity of some of the most sensitive Appenine passes. It is in the Valdichiana that Romans suffered a major defeat in 217 B.C. when the Roman Army was routed by Hannibal in the area of Tuoro del Trasimeno. We know from Tacitus’s accounts that as early as in 15 A.C the Roman government had already taken an interest in reversing the course of the CLANIS river to have it flow in the direction of Florence so as to reduce the damage caused by the frequent floods of the Tiber river in Rome. The swamping of the valley took place in Byzantine times following the barbarian invasions. The event is attested to by Dante in the 29th Canto of the Inferno where the poet compares those plunged in the 10th pit of Hell to those affected by malaria lying in the hospitals of the Valdichiana.

It was only later in the period of the free communes and the political battles amongst Siena, Florence and Arezzo (such as the battle of Scannagallo) that the valley slowly regained the splendour it enjoyed in Etruscan and Roman times. Improvement work was carried out on strategic towns located in the valley as new fortresses and defensive facilities were built at the height of the power of the Lorraine dynasty that took over from the Medici in the government of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and whose most prominent representative may be identified in P.Leopoldo as well as the reversal of the course of the Clanis river and the elevation of the bed of its tributaries (Salarco, Esse, Foenna, ….). All operations were designed and carried out under the unique supervision of engineers and thinkers such as Leonardo Da Vinci, (Image: Val di Chiana, Windsor Castle, 1503), E. Gaci, E. Torricelli, Fossombroni, A. Manetti and C. Possenti who finally reclaimed the whole of the area as can still be seen today. The valley was also crossed by General Garibaldi as he escaped from Rome and was arrested in Sinalunga. The valley is today a much sought after destination for Spa holidays (Rapolano, Chianciano, Montepulciano) and the favourite destination of movie, literature, theatre and sports stars who bought villas, houses or even whole villages in the area.