History

Barberino di Mugello is a municipality located in the western part of the Mugello valley. The municipality includes the following districts: Cavallina, Latera, Galliano, Montecarelli. It is in this municipality, precisely in the area of Montecuccoli, that comes to life the most important river of Mugello: the Sieve.

The municipality of Barberino di Mugello was born only in the Middle Ages, when the dominant person of the western valley were the Ubaldini. Some studies have stated that during the High Middle Ages Barberino was one of the fortification of the family. Always at this time the road of Futa was realized. Thanks to this, all the air became an important economic center. The name Barberino derived probably from the Da Barberio family, descendant of the Cattani, who had a head with three beards on the coat of arms.

Barberino del Mugello knows his period of greatest splendor during the rule of the Medici. In the municipality there is the Villa Medicea of Cafaggiolo, which since 2013 has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

At the end of the twentieth century, Lago di Bilancino was created, with the aim of regulating the water flow of Sieve and Arno, as well as a water reserve for Florence. The lake has also developed from a tourist point of view, but also has to be strengthened.

On Lake Bilancino there is also a WWF naturalistic oasis. It extends over 25 hectares between the Tuscan-Romagna Apennines and the Calvana Mountains. In this oasis, the following animal species may be encountered: woodcock , tordo, ducks, pink flamingos, white stork, river woodcock , hawks, buzzards, etc.