Top of the World
San Pietro or Pieve di Gropina is one of the most interesting examples of Romanesque architecture in Tuscany, the church dates back to the year 1000. About two kilometres from Loro Ciuffenna (Ar), after a detour on the Setteponti road, is the tiny village of Gropina. As soon as you arrive at the sign of the village you have to park your car and continue on foot, but not before stopping to see the beautiful panorama in the middle of the green. A small road leads to the entrance of the small village where the asphalt gives way to the characteristic stone paving with the CAI signs that remind us of the presence of various paths. I arrive in front of the parish church of Gropina but before entering inside I continue the paved path on the left side and up to the back of the apse where the original motif of double arches stands out. Note in the centre the two twisted columns that reproduce the design of the magnificent pulpit inside. The earliest documents concerning the parish church dedicated to St. Peter date back to 774, but we know of the existence of a first church dating back to the fifth century and a second one to the eighth century. The external decoration is traceable in the area of the apse and of the façade, where we can find a woman's head and an angel with six wings. The threshold, the last bulwark of the outside world, is a division. By entering we abandon ourselves to nature. The inside visit would deserve attention to all the details because Gropina is really a well of resources and historical news of the whole Valdarno. But there are two things not to be missed: 1) The stone pulpit, really rich in symbolism, as are all the capitals of the columns, representing a real open book on the history of the Pieve di Gropina. 2) The crypt, which, however, is not always open and can be accessed only accompanied. Here you can still see the features of the two ancient churches that preceded the present one.
