Trestina

Trestina is a village in Umbria, 11 kilometres south of Città di Castello. It sits at 266 metres above sea level where the Seano, Minima and Nestore streams meet the Tiber. The land around Trestina borders the comune of Umbertide, and the village itself is home to about 1,840 people. The area shows traces of early Italic peoples with stone tools and weapons found in Nestore stream deposits. Later, Etruscan settlers left bronze vessels, a small Greek-style centaur figurine and fine archaic bronzes near Tarragoni. The finds are now displayed in Cortona’s museum, including a large tripod that travelled to the Athens Olympics in 2004. The old centre of Trestina clusters on the slopes of a hill called Castellaccio, while newer buildings spread at its foot. The name comes from Roman milestones marking distances to Città di Castello. Visitors can see the ruins of the medieval Castellaccio tower and its newly uncovered walls. A modern reconstruction of the Etruscan tripod stands by the roundabout at the village entrance. The Sanctuary of Canoscio lies two kilometres north, close to the Tuscan border. Each June the Sagra della bistecca fiorentina e del tartufo celebrates local beef and truffles, while November brings the feast of San Martino with wine and chestnuts in local cellars.