The birthday of Firenzuola, according Villani, was on April, 8th:
"quasi alle otto ore del dì, essendo ascendente il segno del Leone, acciò che la sua edificazione fosse più ferma et forte et stabile, et potente".
Giovanni Villani (Libro X, cap. 196 of the Cronica)

Firenzuola is an agricultural and trading centre in the Santerno Valley (Vatrenus amnis river in Marziale works). Other rivers flow through the area: Sillaro, Idice and Gambellato.
It's almost between Firenze (52 Km), its provincial administration, and Bologna (58 Km). Firenzuola is, by extent, the eighth Tuscany commune, with its area of 272,06 Kmq. The region is scarcely peopled and the number of its inhabitants is changed from 13.000 in 1921 to 4.710 today (at July, 7th 1999).

The maximum elevation in the area is the Montoggioli peak at 1.290 m. above sea level; the chief town is at 422 m. The Firenzuola Commune borders on Barberino of Mugello, Borgo San Lorenzo, Palazzuolo sul Senio and Scarperia (province of Firenze), and with Monterenzio, Castel del Rio, Monghidoro, Castiglione de' Pepoli and S. Benedetto Val di Sambro (province of Bologna).

The region is very mountainous and has some well-known pass:
Faggiola pass (1.050 m), crossed by the road that link up Palazzuolo, where developed and operated first groups of partisans in order to "resist" to German troop during the second world war;
Giogo pass, dear to Gabriele D'Annunzio ("Io so dove fiorisce l'asfodelo, là nel chiaro Mugello, presso il Giogo di Scarperia. Lo vidi fiorir bianco..." - "I know where is blooming the asphodel, there in the bright Mugello, near the Giogo of Scarperia. I saw it blooming white ....");
Futa pass (903 m.) where is the widest German military cemetery in Italy: into it there are about 32.000 remains of soldiers died in the last world war. The Giogo and Futa pass were in the middle of the "gothic line" and were the scene of bloody clashes between allies and Germans.

Economics info

The most important agricoltural products are potatos (especially valuable those cultivated in Corniolo and Rapezzo), provenders, chestnuts (the European Community had granted the I.G.P., Protected Geografical Mark, aknowledgement of fruit quality), honey and pulses.

Among the brushwood products: mushrooms (the harvesting is regulated by a regional law), truffles, blackberrys and raspberry.

The hight quality milch and meat cows breeding is thriving and profitable. At Paliana is under test an ostrich breeding.

Carring and working "Firenzuola stone" is a driving sector.
Tourism plays an important role: the municipal territory has good air (except where are sites for the fast speed railway works), there are chances for restful excursions, with horses too, the cooking is tasty, people is hospitable.

Hunting and fishing has their importance. We can meet easily in woods deer, fallow deer, wild boars, roes and mouflons.