This region is characterized by the upper reaches of the Tiber where, from
limpid springs, the river starts its journey down the rocky gorges at frenetic
speed, slackening in pace only when the steep slopes of the apennines slowly
open out into a somewhat narrow plain.
The forests and pastureland covering this predominantly mountainous zone
once formed the boundary and meeting point of two civilizations, the Etruscan
and Umbrian. Traces of these can still be found in several latinized place names
such as Sestino and Monterchi, most probably places of worship dedicated
respectively to the god Sextius, protector of the woodlands, and Hercules, both
present in Italic mythology prior to the Roman expansionist period.
When Michelangelo set about erecting the scaffolding under the vaults in
the cupola of St. Peter's he remembered the fir trees he had seen, during his
childhood and early youth, growing tall and straight in the mountains surrounding his birthplace. He went back to these forests towering high above the river's source and selected the necessary timber, which the Tiber's stream floated down the river to Rome.
Today, the river has been greatly reduced in size and volume, however its
inherent charm has remained intact - at times serene, on other occasions, harsh
and inhospitable. Dynamic by nature, something different greets the eye at
every step.
