Castelfranco di Sotto | The “Cerbaie” Hills

The Cerbaie is a hill system of modest altitude (max 117 m) located between the Valdarno and the paduli (marshes) of Bientina and Fucecchio. It is a relief characterized by large plateaus and vast forests and prairies a few hundred meters from population centers. Colline delle Cerbaie also means Via Francigena that cuts in two this territory almost up to San Miniato, but also history and prehistory with the Archaeological Museum of Orentano, the villa of Pianore in Santa Maria a Monte and that of Poggio Adorno in Santa Croce sull’Arno.

The area contains a complex of natural habitats that are rare or of naturalistic value: fabulous landscapes and environments that do not delay in manifesting themselves when the visitor plunges into the deep “vallini”, an experience in which encounters with beauty and the unknown are assured.
The most important biotopes of the Cerbaie are the sphagnum bogs or peat bogs, among which the “Sfagneta delle Pianore” (the ecological jewel of the Cerbaie) or that of Sammartina (with the carnivorous plant present in the world, only in this tiny environment), the Robinson Park and the Rio della Torre valley.

The richness of this naturalistic patrimony is concentrated in the Natural Reserve of Montefalcone, an area which extends for 500 hectares in the municipality of Castelfranco di Sotto. There vegetate very rare botanical species which enjoy the shade of alders and firs.