Gravel Italia! Castiglion Fiorentino (Tuscany) Ride Experience

Castiglion Fiorentino tuscany cycling — The hillside town of Castiglion Fiorentino

Gravel Italia: Castiglion Fiorentino

This trip was made possible by our friends at Trek Travel. See the links below for more information about their gravel-centric trips.

“Castiglion Fiorentino (Italian pronunciation: [kastiʎˈʎoɱ fjorenˈtiːno]) is a small, walled city in eastern Tuscany, Italy, in the province of Arezzo, between the cities of Arezzo and Cortona. It is known for its annual festivals and its Etruscan archeological site.” – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castiglion_Fiorentino

Gravel Italia: Castiglion Fiorentino Ride Experience Video

Alternative Video Link for those reading via email subscription.

In this video, JOM of the Gravel Cyclist crew in the company of his partner, LGC aka Lady Gravel Cyclist, conduct a fifty-ish mile / 80-ish kilometre jaunt about countryside of Tuscany, close to the Umbria border. The ride starts and ends in the beautiful city of Castiglion Fiorentino, and takes in many towns throughout the region. The route is one JOM designed of his own volution using tips and tricks learned over the years. See the links below to see how JOM designs these routes!

Castiglion Fiorentino cycling — Bush bashing in Tuscany, the peril of creating your own routes!

Continued from Above:

“Due to the overall infrastructure, town walls, and building architecture, for many years scholars considered the town to have been established in the late medieval time frame. More recent excavations, however, have found the remains of an Etruscan city wall (c. 4th century BC) underneath the current Piazzale del Cassero, and have discovered the remains of an Etruscan temple under one of the town’s churches, la chiesa di Sant’Angelo, which was built in the 12th century.”

“Documents from the 10th century mention a town named “Castiglione” in the feudal property of the Marquis of Monte Santa Maria. During the following century, the town became a part of the Diocese of Arezzo.[5] From the 12th century the town was a free commune, until 1289 when, in the wake of the Battle of Campaldino, it became part of the Republic of Florence. Arezzo and Siena joined forces against the Florentines in later years and reconquered Castiglione Aretino (as it was known then), which was then fortified under the direction of Bishop Guido Tarlati, Lord of Arezzo. Following Tarlati’s death in 1336, Florence again gained control of Castiglione, until 1344,[5] when it was acquired by Perugia, and renamed Castiglione Perugino. In 1369, the townspeople revolted against the Perugians,[5] giving themselves to the Papal States; by 1384 the Florentines seized the town and bestowed its current name, Castiglione Fiorentino.” – Learn more at the Wikipedia link above.