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unsurpassable Ancient 200th century walls, it has constituted
a remarkable reference point for historical events keeping
the Tuscany flag high in a land of delicate confines and
equilibrium. On June 29th, 1440, the renowned Battle of
Anghiari, painted in fresco by Leonardo Da Vinci in Palazzo
Vecchio (The Old Palace) depicts and reaffirms the Florentine
hegemony in Tuscany.
Anghiari and its surroundings have known the works and
the lives of the grandest intellects of the Renaissance
period and from "Intra Tevero et Arno" (between
the Tever and Arno Rivers) the seeds of "modernism" were sewn for all of Europe.
The following centuries left important signs in churches and palaces, developing
a very suggestive urban design along the steep "line" that passes through the
village making it unique and inconfoundable.
Surrounded by parishes and castles, Anghiari enjoys a marvelous natural scenery
of the Tuscany Valley, a natural amphitheater dense with Franciscan spirituality.
A savage atmosphere, uncontaminated, rich with century old woods dotted with
monasteries and archeological sites. Its little squares and narrow streets host
antique shops and furniture restoring laboratories; the towers and churches conserve
works of art of paintings and sculptures. The whole historical center offers
century old views and breathtaking perspectives on every corner. Anghiari can
be visited all year round thanks to its vital culture. Fairs and expos are accompanied
by popular festivals.
Theater activities are fervent as are those
of conserving and difusing historical tradition and folkclore.
The visitors enjoy the charm of the village between fairs,
market places and open air spectacles.
All is garnished
with a superb local cuisine and the warmth of the Anghiarian inhabitants.
This text (without pretense that it is work of an encyclopedia)
wishes to add to this extraordinary whirlwind, whispering
phrases and loud serenade screams, chiseled stone and hammers
that strike flares from the shops situated alond the steep
downhill.
Battle of Anghiari paint
by Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo chose the Battle of Anghiari as the subject of the
mural, a victory for Florence in a war against Pisa. He made
many drawings and sketches of a cavalry battle, with tense
soldiers, leaping horses and clouds of dust. In painting
The Battle of Anghiari Leonardo again rejected fresco and
tried an experimental technique called encaustic.
History and Culture
Anghiari boasts its ancient origins
and presents to its visitors its medieval characteristical
aspects, situated in a domino like slope between the valleys
of the Tevere and the Sovara. Already beautiful to observe
from the plain, roaming through the antique village with
its picturesque stone houses, narrows roads, steps, its
suggestive village squares, witness to valuable history
handed down through the centuries, is even more charming.
During the Medieval that Anghiari
reached its maximum importance, above all for its evident,
strategic position. The village was remembered for the
first time in the 11th century, although its first settlements
were Roman.
First dominated by the Lords of Galbino and then by the Camaldolesi, the village
lived one of its most important moments of history with the Battle of Anghiari,
that in 1440, saw the fight between the Milanese and the Florentines allied with
the Pope. The Battle was commanded by Machiavelli and painted by
Leonardo Da Vinci. Primarily, it is probably because of
these facts that Anghiari made history. Also to be visited
in Anghiari is the Palazzo (Palace) Taglieschi with its
National Museum of Arts and Popular Tradition, where frescos,
paintings, wooden sculptures (remarkable the Mother Mary
with Baby Jesus by Jacopo della Quercia), valuable terrecotte,
statuettes, sacred furnishings from various epochs, instruments
and weapons that are proof of a long past of workmanship
and craftsmanship by the Anghiarians.
It are these craftsman today who hand down a lively tradition
of art in iron and in wood and have drawn Anghiari to organize
the Mostra Mercato dell'Artiginato della Valtiberina.
(The Market Show of Craftsmanship of the Valley).
Between the end of April and the beginning of May, this annual appointment
delights in a large outcome. The deep tie that joins this skilled exhibition
are the boutiques of the historical center, some of the most appreciated in
central Italy, elating the discovery of Anghiari even more; a village balanced
by routines far from those of a highway or a loop, where going just a few steps
from the center is enough to find yourself in the peace of silent paths immersed
in the green of fields or the silver of olive groves.
In all of Italy and abroad Anghiari is known as the pillar for Art and restoration
of antique furniture, with expert antiquity restoration connected to the history
of The Institute of Art, a unique school which is working on building the future
site of "Advanced courses for Art and Restoration", and to obtain, with the
restructuring of Palazzo (Palace) Testi, the premises to host students and
apprentices from all over the world.
Let us not forget that if sleeping quarters are enjoyable, inviting as well
is the Anghiarian cuisine, with its typical Tuscany dishes served in ancient
environments where you are likely to find yourself sitting next to a film star,
a famous journalist or a noted political figure.
Finally add the magic atmosphere
of evening feasts, dinners organized in front of a courtyard of a Roman Parish
or at the entranceway of a villa in the old village, with popular folksongs
and theater, so near to the uninhibited spirit that accompanies the Scampanata,
a rare event that repeats itself every five years in the streets of the town.
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