The history
When the first Benedictine monks settled at Vallombrosa (11th century), some silver fir and beech woods were already present. The monks undertook major efforts to conserve these woods, as they supplied their community with timber and food for their herds.
Long silver fir trunks were a rare and expensive good, as they were largely employed to build and restore houses and palaces in Florence. Therefore the monks planted and developed extensive fir-woods and took great care of them.

After the establishment of the kingdom of Italy, it was the State who took care of the forest which, in 1977, became a biogenetic natural reserve.
Every year, thousands of tourists visit the forest, where the students of the Forestry Science Department of the University of Florence have their ‘practical training’.
 

The forest
The forest spreads over an area of 1279 hectares, between 450 and 1450 metres above sea-level. Besides the silver fir, the most common species are the beech (especially at higher altitudes), the larch and the Douglas fir. At the lower altitudes you can find chestnut trees, oaks, maples and hornbeams.

to get to know it better, take a look at one of our -> itineraries