Val d’Elsa

An ancient Romanesque rectory in good condition is that of San Michele in Rencine. Its origin is lost in the mists of time, perhaps it was built in the eighth century. The current church has a rectangular plan, the facade is particular and of great value and represents the oldest part of the church. Next to it is the Chapel ...

The hill of Poggio Imperiale is an area of about 12 hectares located west of the modern city of Poggibonsi. This is an area of high archaeological interest. In this place, between 1155 and 1270, was the site of the first urban nucleus of “Podium Bonizi”. Here, in 1155, Guido Guerra, of the Guidi Counts, built a new city in ...

Located in a dominant position on the Val d’Elsa, the medieval town of San Gimignano is one of the jewels of Tuscany. This spectacular Tuscan village is famous for its medieval towers that characterize its skyline. Because of this characteristic it has earned the name of “city of the beautiful towers”. San Gimignano is characterized by its medieval architecture almost intact where, in ...

Poggibonsi (29,000 inhabitants) is an important industrial town of Val d’Elsa, situated at 116 meters above sea level, in the province of Siena, of which is the second largest city by population after the chief town. The area where there is Poggibonsi was inhabited since ancient times, this is shown by the many archaeological finds in the area. Poggibonsi is an industrial ...

Staggia Senese is a small village with beautiful walls and an interesting medieval castle. This historic village is located in the municipality of Poggibonsi, from which it’s distant 4 kilometers. The town can be reached from Florence or Siena by exiting the Florence-Siena highway at the Colle Val D’Elsa Sud exit and continuing left (to the right if you come ...

Just beyond Colle Alta, you reach the crossroads in Le Grazie, here you take the provincial road n ° 27 in the direction of Casole d’Elsa, a little more than a kilometer away, turn right following a small road bordered by two cypresses with indication Badia a Conèo. Continue for a couple of kilometers until, on the left you reach ...

Colle Val d’Elsa is located about 45 km from the exit of the A1 Firenze-Impruneta. From Firenze-Impruneta, take the Firenze-Siena highway towards Siena. You exit the freeway at exit Colle Val d’Elsa Nord. Colle Val d’Elsa is located less than an hour’s drive from the city of Siena, Florence, San Gimignano, Certaldo and Volterra. Colle Val d’Elsa, was originally developed ...

Radicondoli is a small medieval village which has about 1,000 inhabitants, the village is located on a hill 509 meters above sea level in the metalliferous hills (Colline Metallifere)  in the province of Siena, in the westernmost part of the province. Radicondoli was an ancient castle of Aldobrandeschi of which we have historical evidence since the twelfth century. The castle became later a ...

Abbadia a Isola is a small interesting medieval village, it’s lies just 4 km from Monteriggioni along the road to Colle Val d’Elsa. The small village, built around the Cistercian Abbey of San Salvatore, which was founded here in the tenth century, was in medieval times, a stopping place for pilgrims along the Via Francigena. Here was founded in the early eleventh ...

Monteriggioni is a picturesque medieval village completely encircled from circular walls with 14 towers, situated on a low hill, approximately 10 km from Siena. Until 11th century, Monteriggioni was a station of exchange along the via Francigena. Siena transformed Monteriggioni in an imposing fortress in order protect its northern border during the wars against Florence. A FORTRESS ON THE NORTHERN BORDER ...

San Gimignano was built in the 8th century as a walled feudal castle. In the following centuries the village became a free municipality. Then in 1353 the town became part of the possessions of the Republic of Florence. In the Middle Ages San Gimignano was an important stop for pilgrims who went to Rome along the Via Francigena. In the ...

Casole d’Elsa is a small town in the Val d’Elsa, which has less than four thousand inhabitants, the place is a beautiful medieval village that is located in a dominant position on a hill 417 meters high and about 14 km from Colle Val d’Elsa. The history of Casole d’Elsa dates back to the eleventh century when Volterra founded a castle ...