Arezzo

Arezzo is the province of the four valleys. The Casentino to the north, an upland valley of chestnut and of the Arno at its source. The upper Valdarno to the west, an industrial and agricultural belt between Arezzo and Firenze. The Val di Chiana in the centre-south, one of the most fertile farming plains in Italy, once marshland, then reclaimed, and today the beef district of the Chianina breed. The Val Tiberina to the east, where the Tiber begins its course and where Sansepolcro produces excellence in food and in craft. Four valleys, four landscapes, four manufacturing traditions.

The provincial territory is Etruscan to the marrow. Arezzo was one of the twelve lucumonies, and the archaeological finds — from the Aretine ceramics of the Roman age to the celebrated bronze Chimera — tell of three thousand years of technological and craft continuity. The city itself has kept a mercantile and manufacturing identity that runs through the centuries without a break: in the Middle Ages a capital of finance, in the Renaissance the home of Vasari and of Piero della Francesca, in the nineteenth century a centre of antiques, in the twentieth and the twenty-first the Italian capital of gold.

The goldsmithing specialisation of Arezzo is today among the most important in the world. Hundreds of businesses work gold, silver and precious alloys; the Aretine plants produce chains, rings, bracelets and jewellery in volumes that few goldsmithing districts anywhere can match. The annual Oroarezzo fair is one of the sector's most important international showcases.

But Arezzo is not only gold. The Casentino has its own economy of chestnut woods, water mills and woodworking. The upper Valdarno had lignite mines and a textile industrial history. The Val di Chiana is livestock farming of the highest quality — the Chianina is the bovine icon of Tuscany. Sansepolcro makes artisan pasta of excellent reputation and has an old tradition of working fabrics and embroidery.

The four Aretine valleys produce distinct cuisines. The Casentino and the Val Tiberina are mountain cuisines; the Val di Chiana and the Valdarno have the cooking of an agricultural plain, strongly shaped by livestock farming.

The Chianina. The native cattle breed of the Val di Chiana is the basis of the authentic bistecca alla fiorentina and of a series of preparations in Aretine cooking: tagliata, peposo, brasato, stracotto, ragù. The Chianina is one of the oldest and noblest cattle breeds in the world.

The pecorino of the Casentino and of the Aretine Apennines. Mountain dairies make hard pecorini, matured in caves, with a marked flavour.

Pici with breadcrumbs and Aretine sauce. Pici (in some areas also called "umbrichelli") are dressed with meat sauces, with fried breadcrumbs, with sugo finto (a vegetable-based sauce).

The chicken of the Valdarno. The Valdarnese Bianca breed, once found throughout the valley, is today revived by a certified chain. Free-range chicken, firm and flavourful meat, the basis of many regional preparations.

The pasta of Sansepolcro. A century-old pasta-making tradition. Pici, pappardelle with wild boar, ravioli alla biturgense, potato tortellacci.

The mushrooms and truffles of the Casentino. The high woods produce porcini, chanterelles and Caesar's mushrooms, and prized black truffles.

Wine. Cortona DOC, Chianti Colli Aretini DOCG. Sangiovese, Syrah (particularly at Cortona, where it has taken hold especially well), Trebbiano. Wines of character, but in smaller volumes than the other Tuscan denominations.

The sweets. Befanini di Anghiari, ciambelline al vino of the Valdarno, Aretine cantuccini, Aretine panforte, scarpaccia (a sweet-savoury courgette cake).

The honey of the Casentino and of Cortona. Local beekeepers produce chestnut, acacia, wildflower and honeydew honeys. The honey of Cortona has a specific tradition of its own.