Valdichiana

The Val di Chiana, Valdichiana, or Chiana Valley is an alluvial valley of central Italy, lying on the territories of the provinces of Arezzo and Siena in Tuscany and the provinces of Perugia and Terni in Umbria.

Geography
View of the Siena section of the Val di Chiana from Montepulciano

The Val di Chiana is about 100 kilometres (62 mi) long, and covers about 2,300 square kilometres (890 sq mi). It runs north to south between the plain of Arezzo and the plain of Orvieto and includes the watershed of the Canale Maestro della Chiana, its main watercourse, and the northern part of the watershed of the Chiana River.

The river Chiana (old name Clanis) since IV sec. BC was large and suitable for boats from Arezzo to the connection with the Tevere river (60 km). After the river floating and up to the XVI sec the bottom part of the valley was cover by the water for hundreds years. There's a wonderful map draw by Leonardo da Vinci about this lake ( Map RCIN 912278 Royal Collection). The beauty of the valley and the excellent farming activity was mentioned by Pliny the elder in his Naturalis Historia III, 52-54. Goethe few hundreds years later wrote about Valdichiana: «"Fields of such beauty are impossible to find elsewhere; every lump of earth has been tilled to perfection, prepared for sowing. Wheat grows lushly on this soil, where it seems to find all the necessary conditions to thrive. Every other year they plant horsebean, because oat does not flourish here. They also plant lupines, now already green, which will ripen by the month of March. Flax too, is already sown; buried into the ground throughout the winter, it is toughened by the freezing cold. ». Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Italian Journey.

To the northeast it is bounded by the Tuscan pre-Apennines crowned by the Alta Sant'Egidio at 1,057 metres (3,468 ft), monte Lignano at 837 metres (2,746 ft), and monte Corneta at 744 metres (2,441 ft). To the southeast, it reaches Lake Trasimeno and the valley of the Nestore River. To the west, it extends to the Val d'Orcia, where it reaches its highest elevation at 1,148 metres (3,766 ft) on (Monte Cetona).

The landscape is mostly hilly, with a plain around the Canale Maestro della Chiana. Its mean elevation is around 405 metres (1,329 ft).

Products
Val di Chiana 1789 map

Valdichiana is near traditional local products such as wines, local wheat variety, olive oil, truffle, fruit, cattle breed and others.

The most known local products are:

Chianina cattle breed the original ingredient for the "Bistecca alla Fiorentina"

Aglione della Valdichiana. A special local giant garlic with an aromatic and gentle taste. From 2019 is a DOP

Vinsanto Valdichiana Toscana DOC

Grechetto Valdichiana Toscana DOC

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See also
  • Leonardo da Vinci. "A map of the Valdichiana". Royal Collection Trust. Inventory no. 912278.

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