The Val di Chiana, south of Arezzo and lying between the Val d'Orcia and the Val Tiberina, has always been inhabited, as demonstrated by the prehistoric graffiti found in caves on Monte Cetona.
It gets its name from the river Chiana, and the valley is a natural communications route between the provinces of Arezzo and Siena.
The present-day appearance of the Val di Chiana is the result of marsh drainage and reclamation work that was started by the Romans and carried on right through to the 20th century.
Leonardo da Vinci drew up a map of the area at the beginning of the 16th century