Transhumance, a word of French origin “transhumer” (from Latin “trans,” beyond, over, and “humus,” land, therefore, to go beyond the land of origin), involves the seasonal transfer of pasture-raised livestock. In the winter period, the insufficient mountain pastures, often covered in snow, drove humans and animals towards the coastal plains, giving rise to the great migratory phenomenon known as transhumance.

In Casentino, and therefore also in Talla, the final destination of transhumance was mainly the Maremma Senese, which exhibited marked features of marginality due to the widespread marshland and uncultivated land, where permanent human settlement was not feasible, also because of malaria.

The pastures of Pratomagno have continuously represented a great resource for the inhabitants of the villages clinging halfway up the slopes of Casentino and Valdarno. In the villages of Faltona, Pontenano, and Calleta, most of the inhabitants, even at the end of the 18th century, were shepherds or “vergari” (those in charge of the transhumant expedition).

In September (the start of transhumance), the shepherds of Talla had two preferred routes to reach Maremma: descending towards Pieve a Socana (Rassina) and joining the valley floor road towards Arezzo, or crossing Pratomagno to reach Ponte del Romito, where a fiscal control point was located in Laterina until the 18th century. From there, ascending the Val d’Ambra and entering the Ombrone basin, passing through Colonna del Grillo, they accessed the Maremman pastures in the territory of Cinigiano and then towards those of Paganico.

This interesting Maremman route (mentioned in 1327 as “strada de Malluogo,” later also known as Via Traversa or Via Abaversa), which initially follows the current Provincial Road Casentinese-Valdarnese (SP 59), was included until the late 18th century among the prescribed roads for livestock movements. The regional function of this road remained essentially intact until the 20th century with transhumance. This road can be traced back to Rassina, passing through Pieve di Sòcana, Tulliano, Salutio, and Talla, reaching the watershed between Valdarno and Casentino at La Crocina (or La Croce).

From there, it descended to Fosso Malluogo, ascended Poggio della Tana (also Poggio Pietri) to descend to San Giustino and Ponte del Romito. Ultimately, in the territory of the Municipality of Talla, there are many historical paths used by shepherds to reach the Pratomagno ridge (vertical or summer transhumance) or to reach Maremma (horizontal transhumance). Among the most beautiful historical paths is certainly the one connecting the beautiful 4 medieval bridges in Talla’s territory (route “Via dei Ponti Antichi”), also known as the Hannibal’s Route (where popular memory places the famous Carthaginian commander on his march towards Rome).

Another important historical site of Transhumance is the magnificent Badia Santa Trinita in Alpe (route “Gran Tour” of Transhumance), the first Benedictine monastery in Casentino, founded in the Ottonian era between 950 and 961 by two German hermits, Pietro and Eriprando.