In the Middle Ages Pratovecchio was a fief of the Guidi Counts who had various castles in Casentino, such as that of Romena, and founded the current convent of the Camaldolesi.
Count Marcovaldo built the fortification walls still visible in the circle of Piazza Vecchia. In 1437 the Municipality of Pratovecchio was assigned the rampant lion as coat of arms of the banner.
With the final defeat of the Counts Guidi Pratovecchio passed under the direct influence of Florence to which remained very attached in the following centuries. Also the Forests, confiscated from the Guidi Counts, passed to the Opera del Duomo of Florence first, to the Grand Duchy then and finally to the personal patrimony of the Lorena family. Na has always been located in Pratovecchio the main center for their protection and management. The timber was transported along the Via dei Legni to the Badia from where it was started, taking advantage of the floods of the Arno, towards Florence and Pisa to be used also for the construction of the Grand Ducal fleet.
In fact, the history of the Municipality of Pratovecchio has always been combined with the beauty of its forests and the majesty of the Falterona and it is no coincidence that it is currently the seat of the National Park of Casentino Forests.
The abundant variety of vegetation, the excellent climate and the location in a valley rich in history and culture make it an area sought after by visitors throughout the year. To them the town offers all the necessary services, numerous events and historical beauties of its works of art.
The center of the village is characteristic like other historical centers of the Casentino: it has narrow streets paved in stone and squares set in the middle of buildings that keep intact the atmosphere of the ancient time. Villages and squares are flanked by long arcades.The historic center of Pratovecchio is in Piazza Vecchia, but the fulcrum of the social life of the village is “Piazza Nova” dedicated to Paolo Uccello, the great painter born in 1397, son of Dono, barber and surgeon of Pratovecchio. They are remarkable in the village: a tabernacle located in Borgo Mezzo exhibiting a beautiful Della Robbia terracotta; the Camaldolese Convent with various works including the Coronation of the Virgin, a panel of G. Bizzelli of 1600 and belonging to the school of Pontormo; the Dominican Monastery with the Church of all the Saints, adorned with decorations of the 700 and various paintings of the same period or previous; the Church of the Abbey or of Santa Maria in Poppiena whose existence is documented since the eleventh century, of which in this period the restoration is being completed.
The main church of the village, the Propositura del SS Nome di Gesù , is located in Piazza Iacopo Landino, also called “Piazza Vecchia”. It was built next to the Cassero and the current hall of the Podestà, which represent the oldest historical center of the country, has a single nave with the ceiling of wooden tiles of the sixteenth century.
