Discover the eastern gateway into Tuscany

The parish church of San Michele Arcangelo stands in the old heart of the village. A former abbey, its Romanesque profile dates back to the eleventh century, and a church porch extends off the front. San Michele Arcangelo is better known for what lies inside, though: five glazed terracottas from the sixteenth century, made either by the Della Robbia family or in imitation of them. These sculptures were fashioned at the behest of bishop Leonardo Bonafede, and the most notable of them is the altarpiece depicting the Madonna and Child with saints. The altar on the right sits under a terracotta that portrays the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, which itself stands under a lunette of the Annunciation, while the terracotta over the left altar shows Mary handing the Holy Girdle to Saint Thomas. This latter is notable for its dark crimsons, greens and blues, something of a contrast to the celestial palette that more often characterises the Robbian style.

During the Second World War, the German forces identified Badia Tedalda has a key strategic point in their defensive plans to halt the Allied advance up the Italian peninsular. They constructed a string of fortifications right across the country, from the west coast to the east, which became known as the Gothic Line. This part of Italy, the southern Romagna, saw some of the fiercest fighting of the war, and the Historical Park of the Gothic Line allows you to visit the dugouts and defences that the Germans built along the ridges around Badia Tedalda. The park offers ten different routes to cut to the heart of one of the most crucial and most bloody episodes in the Second World War. 

Badia Tedalda lies within the Alpe della Luna Nature Reserve, an area of stunning mountainous beauty that shows off the best of the Tuscan Valtiberina. The Reserve has a trail network, which shares routes with the Club Alpino Italiano, and the (literal) high point of any walk here is the cresting the ridge of the Ripa della Luna, which reaches 1,453 metres above sea level. Not all the walkers who pass through Badia Tedalda are trekkers, however: many are pilgrims on the medieval Via Romea, which segues from Romagna into Tuscany via this very municipality.