Portico was built in ancient times on the road to Florence, famous in Roman times as a marketplace and later as the castle of the Counts Guidi of Dovadola.
In 1386 it became the capital of the Florentine Republic. The town still preserves its medieval appearance, divided into three levels: the upper part, with the castle and the parish church; the central part, along via Roma, with the 13th and 14th century mansions and notary’s palaces, which housed noble families from Romagna and Tuscany who fled here because of political conflicts; and finally the artisan and plebeian villages, with houses built vertically (cellar, kitchen, bedroom and attic).
The name “Portico” comes from the Roman colonisation of Romagna (then inhabited by Gauls), who built the portico here for the market.
The town belonged to the Holy See until 1164, when Emperor Frederick II of Swabia ceded it as a feud to the Guidi counts of Modigliana. The municipality’s coat of arms, an elm tree, comes from the elm tree in the square where, since 1384, the Podestà has had to read the laws to the people every June.
The ridges that separate the Montone valley from the Rabbi and Tramazzo valleys are the starting point for many routes and walks from the centre of the village.
Places to visit:
Palazzo Traversari, with a tablet dedicated to Ambrogio dei Traversari, humanist and general abbot of the Camaldolese, who presided over the Councils of Ferrara and Florence in the 15th century; Palazzo Portinari, 12th century, belonging to Folco, Beatrice’s father, in Florentine style, with balcony and loggias leading to the tower. On the ruins of the castle stand the Portinari Tower, formerly the tower of the Conti Guidi Castle, the 15th century Clock Tower and the Parish Church, and in the upper part of the town the Palazzo dei Podestà, with the coats of arms of the Florentine captains. Further down, the characteristic Borgo Piano is worth a visit, as is the Ponte della Maestà, which crosses the Montone river.
There are many excursions towards Monte Busca, the Tramazzo Valley, the Serra Pass to Premilcuore in the Rabbi Valley or from Querciolano to Berleta in the Bidente Valley.
How to get there:
From motorway exit Forlì km 38, from Forlì railway station km 36 and from Forlì airport km 36. Take the S.S.67 in the direction of Florence.
At the foot of the Muraglione Pass stands San Benedetto whose history is linked to the Benedictine Abbey, one of the oldest in the Apennines. There are records of a nucleus of hermits as early as the 10th century and here, about a century later, Saint Romuald stopped before founding Camaldoli.
Dante also stopped in these places during the period of his exile and he recounted them poetically in the Divine Comedy (Inferno, Canto XVI).
The Abbey's decline began at the end of the 14th century, when it came under the administration of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence.
Today, the evocative premises of the ancient Mill (here stood the mills of the ancient abbey) house the visitor centre of the Park of the Casentino Forests.
Around the abbey, at the junction of the Acquacheta and Rio Destro streams, arose the settlement of Biforco and further down, where the monastery mills were located, that of Mulino.
In the Middle Ages it was a fief of the Counts Guidi of Modigliana, while in 1440, as a free commune, it passed under the rule of Florence.
From the 14th century, the abbey began to decline until the ancient church was demolished in 1723 to build a new one with a single nave.
Of the abbey, part of the crypt, the remains of the cloister with the well once in the centre, the cloister portal, the defence tower and the monks' cells are still visible.
Not to be missed is a trip to Acquacheta, in the heart of the Parco delle Foreste Casentinesi, via the path along the river that leads to the top of the waterfall sung about by Dante.
Numerous routes on foot, by bicycle or on horseback depart from the Casentino Forest Park visitor centre.
Come arrivare: From the Forli motorway exit km 50, from Forli railway station km 48, from Forli airport km 48. 11 km from Portico and 7 km from Bocconi.
The village was built in the Middle Ages on a river terrace to the left of the Montone river, around the 'Vigiacli' watchtower that guarded the castle at the top of the village of Bastia, first belonging to the monks then to the Counts Guidi. In fact, probably the name of the village derives from one of them, Bucco. When the castle was destroyed in the 14th-15th centuries, the inhabitants of Bastia moved further down the valley.
Bocconi became a free Municipality with its own statutes from 1429, under the jurisdiction of Florence and the Podesteria of Portico. The growth of the small village occurred several centuries later, following the construction of the Muraglione carriageway in 1836.
In addition to the 19th-century parish church and the medieval village with the 'Vigiacli' tower, the hump-backed, three-arched Brusia Bridge (18th century) over a 7-8 metre-deep waterfall and whirlpool and an old mill are worth seeing.
How to get there: Bocconi is located along the SS.67 between the two villages of Portico and San Benedetto.
For turist informations: Pro Loco +39 347545272 | Portico and San Benedetto
This itinerary aims to point tourists to the culinary offerings of our land, with a culinary tradition famous throughout Italy.
Romagna, is in fact endowed with very fertile soils from which excellent natural products are obtained that can be enjoyed as soon as they are picked or prepared within sophisticated recipes to be served on the table.
It starts with the best-known and most popular events held in all the towns in the area. In Romagna, in fact, in every season of the year, it is possible to take part in countless festivals.
Monuments, churches, villas, palaces and relevant places
Natural parks and gardens, landscapes and breathtaking sights
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