I paesaggi di Leonardo da Vinci

To retrace some areas of the Arno Valley of Valdarno means first of all the sensations experienced by Leonardo da Vinci when he crossed the spectacular landscape of the Balze, which we find in the famous painting "Madonna dei Fusi" or the evocative one of the Arno in the stretch of Ponte a Buriano. he has transmitted with some of his famous works. The Balze were even the subject of studies and the Genius was inspired to create the background of some paintings. In La Gioconda, which represents the union between the perfection of human work and nature, it seems that the Bridge to Buriano is also remembered.
Water is the main force that forged the Balze: first, about two million years ago, it formed a large lake filling it with sediments taken from the surrounding mountains, then, more recently, it eroded and etched with the slow flow torrents, forming spiers and pinnacles of sand, silt and pebbles, modeled again by the water, smoothed by the wind and chapped by the sun, which today dominate narrow valleys cultivated. Among these cathedrals, fascinating in their enchanting colors ranging from gray-celestial to ocher-orange, you will discover cultivated fields, streams, borri and oak groves in which you will lose to listen and observe nature.