Bibbiena

Last updated: September 25, 2026

Bibbiena does not try to charm you with medieval perfection or hilltop drama. It is the Casentino‘s working capital — the largest town in the valley with just under 12,000 inhabitants, the commercial and administrative center, the place where people come to shop, see doctors, and get things done. Its historic center sits on a hilltop at 425 meters, but the modern town sprawls into the valley floor below, and the first impression can be ordinary.

Look closer. Piazza Tarlati, the main square at the highest point of the old town, offers a panoramic terrace with views across the entire valley — one of the Casentino‘s finest viewpoints. The square takes its name from the Tarlati family, the Ghibelline lords of Arezzo (Bishop Guido Tarlati and his brother Pier Saccone, who died in Bibbiena in 1356) who controlled this end of the valley before Florence absorbed it. Renaissance palaces line the surrounding streets, particularly the elegant Palazzo Dovizi, family home of Cardinal Bernardo Dovizi da Bibbiena — a friend and secretary to Pope Leo X, and the author of La Calandria, one of the first Italian Renaissance comedies.

One kilometer outside town, the Santuario di Santa Maria del Sasso is worth the detour. This Renaissance sanctuary, begun in 1486 to designs by Giuliano da Maiano with the backing of Lorenzo il Magnifico, stands on the site where the Virgin Mary appeared on a boulder (sasso). The crypt, beside the rock of the apparition, houses the Madonna del Buio (Madonna of Darkness) — an early fifteenth-century wooden sculpture of the Florentine school, probably by Andrea Cavalcanti, showing Donatello’s influence. The church above contains works by Fra Paolino del Signoraccio and other Florentine-school painters.

Bibbiena’s finest moment is the Sagra delle Sagre — usually held on a weekend in June in the historic center. This festival gathers food traditions from across the entire Casentino valley and neighboring areas (Corezzo, Faltona, Chiusi della Verna, Monte Sopra Rondine and others) into one enormous street food event. It is the single best opportunity to taste the breadth of Casentino cuisine in one evening.

Getting here: Bibbiena is the most accessible town in the Casentino — 30 km from Arezzo (~30 minutes by car), with a train station on the LFI/TFT line (under an hour from Arezzo). It is also the departure point for La Verna (about 25 km, roughly 35 minutes by car).

Nearby

• La Verna — about 25 km east, the Franciscan stigmata sanctuary
• Poppi — 7 km north, the Guidi castle
• Arezzo — 30 km south, Piero della Francesca and the antiques fair
• Camaldoli — 20 km north, the Camaldolese monastery in the forest

Information is provided in good faith and may change. Always confirm opening hours, prices, and event dates with the official source before you travel.