Description
In the hills of Casentino, at an altitude between 850 and 1,100 m asl and in a setting of great naturalistic interest, the Chiusi della Verna Castle, once belonging to Count Orlando Cattani, is a real piece of Italian history. The land of the property stretches for about 310.4 hectares (767.0 acres) and is excellent as an investment for wildlife and hunting activities.
The land is located in what is undoubtedly the greenest and most spiritual part of the province of Arezzo near the Holy Mount Verna, inextricably linked to the figure of St. Francis of Assisi.
DETAILS OF THE LAND
Access to the land is fairly easy, often directly from the paved provincial road along which almost all of the estate is developed. The property is characterized by remarkable viewpoints and monumental plants.
• Woodlands (203.7 ha): composed mainly of turkey oak, hornbeam, beech, sycamore and field maple trees, as well as various broadleaf species. Some portions of reforestation with Douglas fir and black pine date back to the 1960s.
• Timber arboretum (14.6 ha): composed of valuable cherry, ash, sycamore maple and rowan trees planted between 1999 and 2005.
• Grazing and arable land (92.0 ha): large tree-free areas benefiting from CAP subsidies, greening, upland allowances and organic farming premiums.
THE BUILDINGS
In addition to the land, the property includes three dilapidated buildings (formerly farmhouses and barns) and the ruins of Count Orlando Cattani’s castle, right in the town of Chiusi, from which there are uninterrupted views over much of the property’s land.
The earliest records of the castle date back to 967, when the fiefdom of Chiusi was confirmed under the rule of Godfrey of Tuscany, a nobleman linked to the Germanic emperor Otto I. Orlando Cattani, a descendant of Godfrey, then donated Mount Verna to St. Francis of Assisi, who stayed there several times, most recently in 1224 when he received the stigmata.
A certain Lodovico Buonarroti, father of the famous sculptor Michelangelo Buonarroti, who was born precisely of the nearby village of Caprese Michelangelo that still bears his name, then resided in the castle during the period when he held the office of Podestà of Chiusi and Caprese.
CLOSEST CITIES AND TOWNS
Closest services (500m; 2’), Caprese Michelangelo (12km; 20’), Pieve Santo Stefano (17km; 25’), Bibbiena (19km; 30’), Subbiano (28km; 40’), Anghiari (29km; 40’), Sansepolcro (33km; 40’), Stia (38km; 50’), Arezzo (42km; 55’), Castiglion Fiorentino (58km; 1h 15’), Cortona (74km; 1h 40’), Florence (83km; 1h 40’), Siena (111km; 1h 55’)
CLOSEST AIRPORTS
Perugia San Francesco (97km; 1h 20’), Firenze A. Vespucci (106km; 2h 10’), Pisa G. Galilei (168km; 2h 55’), Bologna G. Marconi (180km; 2h 45’), Roma Ciampino (271km; 3h 5’), Roma Fiumicino (284km; 3h 10’)
