Tuscany · Arezzo
Poppi
The Casentino borgo whose castle sat above the field where Dante fought the Battle of Campaldino in June 1289.
Known for
CASTELLO GUIDI
Late twelfth-century Counts Guidi castle, model for Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, with frescoed chapel and the Rilliana library.
CAMPALDINO 1289
Battle on the plain below the castle where Florence beat Arezzo and Dante fought in the Guelph front rank at twenty-four.
FORESTE CASENTINESI
National park east of Poppi covering the beech and fir forests of the Apennine watershed, one of the oldest managed in Europe.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
The festa: Torello da Poppi, terza domenica dopo Pasqua
Why come
Poppi rises above the upper Arno in the Casentino, the wooded valley between Pratovecchio and Bibbiena. The Counts Guidi held this hill from at least 1169, and the castle they built across the late twelfth and thirteenth centuries, attributed in its older part to Lapo di Cambio and in the later upper section to Arnolfo di Cambio, became the model for the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. On 11 June 1289 the plain of Campaldino, directly below the castle, was the battlefield where the Guelphs of Florence beat the Ghibellines of Arezzo.
Dante Alighieri fought on the Guelph side, twenty-four years old, in the front rank of the feditori. He returned later as a guest of the Guidi during his exile. The castle now holds a working library, a fourteenth-century chapel frescoed by the school of Giotto, and a hand-painted model of the Campaldino battle with more than four thousand tin soldiers.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Poppi’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
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What to see
Castello dei Conti Guidi
Late twelfth- and thirteenth-century castle of the Guidi family, model for the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, with frescoed chapel and library.
Piano di Campaldino
Plain below the castle where the Guelphs beat the Ghibellines on 11 June 1289, with Dante Alighieri in the Florentine front line.
Abbazia di San Fedele
Romanesque abbey church inside the borgo, with single nave and stone façade, dating from the early twelfth century.
Pieve di San Pietro a Romena
Twelfth-century Romanesque pieve a short distance from Poppi, dated 1152, built entirely of stone with three apses.
Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi
National park covering the forested ridges east of Poppi, one of the oldest managed beech and fir forests in Europe.
The slow-trip planner
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We recommend
Where to eat and stay
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to — a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Living here
- Population 5,823
- In-betweeni
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Bologna, 2 h 11 min drive
- Regional capital Firenze, 1 h 4 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
The numbers
- Elevation: 437 m
- Population: 5,823
- Surface area: 97.09 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Close by
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