The Fontina and Castagnati Lake

• … and they used to rinse clothes in the Ombrone
• After September 8th 1943
• Between the twenties and thirties
• Corrado Capecchi, military internee
  • A medal (at last) for Corrado
  • The joke of the military internees
• Five places of Romanesque Carmignano
• Friar Bocci, at the beginning of the twentieth century
• From archaeologists to farmers
• Gino Balena
• Gino di Fico
• Historical shops in Carmignano
• In the name of Jesus and Saint Peter, may the sty go away
• Liberation day
• Matteucci, the ‘forgotten’ bishop
• Soldier in Greece
• Stories from a school notebook
• Stories of donkeys and jockeys
• Stories of mayors and town councils in Carmignano
• Stories of our home
• Stories of war and displaced persons
• The Battistina and other scary stories
• The colours of the rioni
• The Golden Roster
• The last sharecropper in Carmignano
• The siege in memory of the Princess
• The tree of liberty in Carmignano
• Ugo Contini Bonacossi
• Vittorio’s bicycles
• When the river Arno was fordable ..
• When they were digging pietra serena between Arno and Ombrone
• The colours of Carmignano, a small guide for tourists
  • Ancient churches and abbeys. Montalbano, a crossroads for pilgrims.
    • San Giusto al Pinone
    • San Jacopo in Capezzana
    • San Leonardo in Artimino
    • San Lorenzo in Montalbiolo
    • San Martino in Campo
    • San Michele amarcord
      • San Michele, the theater takes to the streets
• Itineraries for just a few days or more
  • Walking through history and nature
  • A Sunday devoted to the discovery of Artimino
  • A few words about the hamlets of Carmignano
  • The Fontina and Castagnati Lake
• Guides to download

a trip to the Fontina di Comeana, a spring with water flowing from the mountain along the Elzana stream, and then maybe a visit to the Castagnati lake in Seano where you can fish or even quench your thirst from another spring that gushes not far from there.
Targioni Tozzetti wrote about the Fontina in Comeana in 1750 : “At the foot of Mount Artimino, next to the mill of Barco, in a part of the wood full of sandstone and volcanic Magone rock, flows a spring of clear and cold water, pure without any smell or taste. This spring water is very light and diuretic as much as that of Pisa and Villa. Several experiments demonstrated this. Many other springs of excellent water can be found around the Barco Artimino … “.The Comeanesi have always taken water from the Fontina: both when there was no running water in the houses and when there was. Every town had its own spring and this was the Castagnati spring of Seano.
To reach the Fontina from the town centre people walked on via Volta and via della Fonti. In the shadow of Colombaione, a large farmhouse on a hill, they took the path along the Elzana, a stream full of kiddles until a few decades ago. To get to the Fontina there was a river crossing. Right in front of the spring there was a ford with a series of stones arranged to form a walkway.   Today there is a small footbridge surrounded by a small garden with benches, tables and areas organised for barbecues: ideal for a picnic.
Lake Castagnati in Seano is instead an artificial reservoir, owned by the estate of Capezzana. In recent years it was leased to a company. People fished in it. Its silhouette is visible as soon as you descend along Via Pistoia from Carmignano. It can be reached following a path hewn out of the hillside, by car,  on foot or also by Seano. Along the lake a number of equipped fishing points have been set up. For those who are not into fishing this area can be ideal for a nice visit in spring or summer.
A second lake for fishing, also artificial, was inaugurated in February 2012. It’s called Lake Lillo. It is small but full of one hundred percent Italian fish. Near its side there is also a restaurant with short distribution chain products. The name “Ikke c’è c’è” (What is there is there.), gives you an idea. Of course, we also recommend paying a visit to this place. (Wf)