Montevarchi, Administrative commune in Upper Arno Valley, Italy
Montevarchi is a commune in the Province of Arezzo, located in the upper Arno valley where a prehistoric lake once filled the basin. The town sits at 144 meters above sea level between the valley floor and the hills that separate this area from the Chianti wine region.
The settlement formed around 1100 near a Benedictine monastery, first controlled by the Marquis Bourbon del Monte. In 1273, control shifted to Florence, bringing the commune into the orbit of the powerful city-state.
The Museum of Sacred Art contains the Tempietto Robbiano, a chapel with glazed terracottas created by Andrea della Robbia between 1490 and 1499.
The town works as a production center for clothing and operates several hydroelectric and thermal power plants in the surrounding area. Visitors find the center easy to reach, with broad streets connecting the different neighborhoods.
The Paleontology Museum holds 1,600 fossils from the upper Arno valley that document local wildlife from three million years ago. The collection includes remains of prehistoric elephants and other mammals that once lived along the shore of the vanished lake.
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