Top of the World
In the old village of Loro Ciuffenna (Ar), one of the most characteristic and best preserved of the entire Upper Valdarno, is the oldest water mill in Tuscany still in operation. It was built around the year one thousand at the edge of a ravine on the river Ciuffenna. In ancient times its banks housed several water mills that then over the years have gone drastically dismantled. In the post-war period there were still six of them, then with the gradual depopulation of the countryside remained only this last specimen.the inside is a small museum composed by 3 millstones activated by means of a ritrecine, that is a central tree on whose extremity there are the blades that allow the movement exploiting the impetuous flow of the water. The three millstones each had a different function: one was used for wheat, one for maize and the other for chestnuts; in recent years, however, only chestnuts have been ground. The "buratto" is on display, allowing the sifting of flour from the various derivatives such as bran, tritello and farinaccio.
