The towns of Ortignano and Raggiolo that united in 1873 to create one single town are in an area rich in chestnut woods. The manufacture of chestnuts has characterised the history of the area. The Chestnut Ecomuseum has been created in Raggiolo and it consist of a process that starts from the chestnuts collection to their milling and that allows to discover the ancient processing techniques of this product.

The towns of Ortignano and Raggiolo that united in 1873 to create one single town are in an area rich in chestnut woods. The manufacture of chestnuts has characterised the history of the area. The Chestnut Ecomuseum has been created in Raggiolo and it consist of a process that starts from the chestnuts collection to their milling and that allows to discover the ancient processing techniques of this product.
The history of Ortignano from the Latin word "Hortius" has been documented since the XIII century. At that time, this small village was a feud of the counts Guidi from Poppi, namely one of the most illustrious and powerful feudatory dynasties loyal to the German empire. Also an imperial diploma issued by Frederick II, which tells about the family being recognized all its rights on the territory, confirms this.
In the XIV century, the bishopric of Arezzo obtained the jurisdiction on the lands of Ortignano and Raggiolo, which was an ancient dominion of the Ubertini, thanks to the authorization given by Charles IV. In 1349, Florence took possession of the towns of Ortignano, Raggiolo, Uzzano, Giogatoio, Civitella Secca and Giogalto and united them in the "accomandigia" of the Valle Fiorentina. The latter fell within the administration of the podestà of the Montagna Fiorentina (Montemignaio and Castel San Niccolò).
At the end of the century, the inhabitants of the valley rebelled and obliged Florence to resort to a drastic solution. The leaders of the revolt were hanged, while more than two-hundred rebels were deported and later forgiven. Niccolò Piccinino's troops from Milan, which arrived in Tuscany around the year 1440 to fight against Florence, definitively destroyed the ancient castle of Raggiolo. As it said above, the two towns were independent administrations until the XIX century. Then, Raggiolo's ancient grand-ducal "comunitas", which had also been a "mairie" during the Napoleonic occupation in the first years of the XIX century, was incorporated to Ortignano.
The local economy based on the traditional activities of sheep-breeding and chestnut collection flanked the manufacture of straw hats and, in the XX century, also the textile and mechanic industry developed.