CASTELFIORENTINO THE PERFECT PLACE FOR HOLIDAY IN TUSCANY
WHY CASTELFIORENTINO?
THE TERRITORY, THE STRATEGIC POSITION IN THE HEART OF TUSCANY.
The history of Valdelsa area and Castelfiorentino tell to us about and ancient territory with a strong mood for hospitality and its strategic position in the heart of Tuscany between Florence, Pisa and Siena.
A land of ancient borders crossed by important roads as the Via Francigena to go walking to San Gimignano and then Siena.
Castelfiorentino is the perfect place to start to discover the cities that have made Tuscany famous in the World. From Castelfiorentino you can arrive, 1 hour by car, to Florence (40 km), Siena (50 km), Pisa and Lucca (60 km); you can also choose to use the train. From Castelfiorentino station, located in the center on the city, trains run every hour.
Explore the main attractions of Tuscany also means to visit ancient and picturesque little towns with their atmospheres and the historical past.
San Gimignano. It stands on a hill about 20 km from Castelfiorentino, with its thirteen medieval towers, high and projected skyward, overlooking the sweeping view of Valdelsa an alternation of woods, vineyards and olive groves.
30 km from Castelfiorentino there is Volterra, a city rich in history and home to the alabaster craft work, It stands on a high hill overlooking the Valdelsa and then down to the Val di Cecina to the sea. Enclosed by massive walls, Volterra is telling to us its millenary history and the ancient civilizations of Roman and Etruscan: three thousand years of history, Medioevo, Renaissance, until today, they have made unique and extraordinarily rich heritage of this town.
CASTELFIORENTINO
Firenze
Siena
Lucca
Pisa
Livorno
Arezzo
Volterra
San Gimignano
Monteriggioni
#1 ITINERARY: TO DISCOVER CASTELFIORENTINO
History, traditions and the artistic heritage.
This first itineray is designed for those who like to be surprised and get out of the classical schemes, for those who like to stop and visit and learn about the authentic surroundings of a territory rich in history, art and traditions far from the places of mass tourism: the Valdelsa area is the ideal place to do this.
STARTING FROM CASTELFIORENTINO, in the highest point of the town, surrounded by its medieval walls, the church La Pieve of Saints Ippolito and Biagio, with its charming Romanesque style. From the natural terrace of the Pieve the eye sweeps across the Valdelsa, until the Valdera and the soaring towers of San Gimignano. Beginning the descent downtown, walking through the ancient streets you can arrive in the square of the Town Hall where, on the clock you can see “Membrino”, the soldier who, according to tradition, saved the country from the invasion of the army from Florence led by Francesco Ferrucci marching towards Volterra. In the Town Hall yiu can see the Church Collegiata dei Santi Leonardo e Lorenzo, an impressive example of Romanesque valdelsano site of the signing of the famous peace after the battle of Montaperti (1260).
The descent continues until to the low historical center, through the second ring of wall of Castelfiorentino, along the steep street also known as “Costa“.
At this point, take advantage of a true immersion in the Renaissance with a visit to BeGo Museum dedicated to the artist Benozzo Gozzoli, in the center of low downtown, in Testaferrata street, 50 mt from the railway station. Inside BeGo Museum are kept important tabernacles, frescoes painted in the second half of the fifteenth century by Benozzo Gozzoli, the painter of Medici family. BeGo is a young and friendly museum with an important collection, with the opportunity to gain multimedia experience. The Staff of Museum is always happy to meet the needs of visitors with guided tours in Italian and English.
Tabernacle of the Madonna della Tosse
Castelfiorentino borderland, roads used by pilgrims and travelers, still it offers many surprises. A short walk from the Museo Bego, immersed in a green tree-lined square, there is a shrine dedicated to Santa Verdiana, the patron of Castelfiorentino. Enter the sanctuary means to retrace the steps of the life of this saint of Castelfiorentino lived between the end of 1100 and the first half of 1200. Pilgrim to Santiago, then devoted his life to prayer in the ancient cell that still retains the feeling of devotion that, over the centuries, the people of Castelfiorentino and others, dedicated to her figure. In the nearby Museum of Santa Verdiana, known for the wonderful wooden panel attributed to Cimabue with the participation of a young Giotto, also works by Taddeo Gaddi and Jacopo del Casentino and the ancient specimens of antiphonaries finely illuminated.
Another opportunity is visit the impressive Church of San Francesco, and Its precious frescoes by Giovanni del Biondo, about the life of the Saint came in Castelfiorentino to meet the young Verdiana.