Villages

Certaldo is divided into an upper part, medieval, called Certaldo Alto, surrounded by fortified walls, and a modern part located in the valley below. The town is the birthplace of Giovanni Boccaccio, and still retains its ancient part of the original medieval structure with the Praetorian Palace, monasteries, churches, towers and fortifications, characteristic of the village are the red brick ...

Borgo a Mozzano is a town of just over 7,000 inhabitants placed at 97 meters above sea level along the river Serchio valley in the province of Lucca, which is about 21 km. Borgo a Mozzano was once an important service center for the surrounding area, at the end of the thirteenth century it became the seat of the Podestà and ...

Castelnuovo Berardenga, is an interesting village of Chianti in the province of Siena. The municipality has about 8,900 inhabitants and  is located at the southern end of the Chianti hills at the point where begin the clay soils that form the Crete Senesi. Castelnuovo Berardenga is located on a hill about 350 meters high, between the Ombrone and the torrent Malena, the ...

Sarteano, is an interesting medieval town situated at 525 meters above sea level in the southern province of Siena, the town is just 6 km from the highway (A1) exit Chiusi-Chianciano. At Sarteano was born in 1439 Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini, who became Pope in 1503 for less than a month with the name of Pius III. Popular tourist resort, Sarteano maintains ...

Cetona is a small village situated at 384 metres above sea level at the feet of the mount Cetona (1,148 meters) of vulcanic origin. The zone was inhabited since the Etruscan and Roman age. During the Middle Ages (15th century) Cetona was fortified from Siena, of these works still now remains, the rocca, three gates and remarkable remainders of the ...

Scarlino is located in a beautiful position on a hill 229 meters above sea level, which dominates the plain of Follonica and the sea. The village of Scarlino developed from the thirteenth century as a fortress of the Aldobrandeschi family, in 1278 it was occupied by the Republic of Pisa and from 1399 became a possession of the Appiani of ...

Bagno Vignoni is a small village of medieval appearance, characterized by a group of houses and the enormous pool of water occupying the main square. The small cluster of houses was originally a castle of the family of Amerighi, already known in the eleventh century, today the remains of the castle (Vignoni Alto) dominate the high ground above the spa ...

San Quirico d’Orcia, located over 400 meters above sea level, is situated 45 km from Siena on SS. Cassia, to get there you pass through the villages of Monteroni d’Arbia, Buonconvento and Torrenieri, near the intersection to Pienza you arrive in San Quirico. Formerly the village was called San Quirico in Osenna. In medieval times it was quite important, so ...

Barberino Val d’ Elsa is a fortified village situated on a hill over the Elsa River valley at 373 meters of height, the village lies half way between Florence and Siena in the north-western area of the Chianti hills. Barberino Val d’Elsa was founded by the Republic of Florence as a castle in a strategic position along the Via Cassia, ...

Monte San Savino is an interesting town in the Val di Chiana in the province of Arezzo, located on a hill about 330 meters high. The historic center has medieval and late Renaissance buildings. This town is the birthplace of Andrea Contucci known as Sansovino, famous architect and sculptor of the Renaissance. The area where the village stands today was ...

Castiglion Fiorentino is an important town in the Val di Chiana situated on a hill 345 meters high, between Arezzo and Cortona. The village has remote Etruscan origins, it is shown by the remains of Etruscan walls found at the Cassero. During the late archaic and the Hellenistic periods in the area of Castiglion Fiorentino stood an important Etruscan settlement. The ...

From a distance the structure that characterizes the village of Poppi is undoubtedly the Castle of the Counts Guidi (or Praetorian Palace), which, with its massive structure dominates the town on the hilltop, but the town is very beautiful even for its porches. Poppi’s history dates back to the twelfth century when it became the main residence of the Counts ...

Castel Focognano is a town in the Casentino situated 28 km from Arezzo, and about 12 km from Bibbiena, the main center and seat of the municipality is the village of Rassina, located in the plains along the valley of the Arno river. The town has kept the name of the old location, Castel Focognano, which until 1778 had been ...

Bibbiena is an important center of the Casentino in the province of Arezzo, is located on a hill 425 meters above sea level at the confluence of the Archiano stream in the Arno river. The area where today stands Bibbiena was populated since Etruscan times, but the foundation of the present town dates back to the Middle Ages. Bibbiena arose ...

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 ...

Cortona (23 000 inhabitants) is a beautiful town in the province of Arezzo, which is located on the slopes of a hill about 500 meters high, is now a major tourist city with many tourist attractions primarily Etruscan, Roman, Medieval and Renaissance. The town of Cortona traces its historical roots in the Etruscan period, probably founded between the sixth and ...

Civitella in Val di Chiana is a picturesque village perched on a hill 523 meters above sea level. Civitella in historical times was important due to its strategic location in relation to the paths towards Siena and Florence, and his role as garrison in the proximity of the city of Arezzo. The definitive aspect of Civitella is dated to the second ...

Buonconvento is a village of just over 3,000 inhabitants located in the province of Siena at 147 meters above sea level at the confluence of the river Arbia in to river Ombrone. Buonconvento is about 30 km from Siena and is still surrounded by medieval walls, built between 1371 and 1385. The medieval village enclosed by walls has a quadrilateral plan and ...

Situated on a hill, 578 meters above sea level, overlooking the river valleys of the Pesa, Arbia and Elsa, Castellina in Chianti is one of the most important villages of Chianti and a famous resort area. Castellina in Chianti, is an interesting medieval town of Etruscan origins, of this period are witness the many Etruscan tombs that are located nearby, ...

Lucignano (3,500 inhabitants), is a small medieval village of the Val di Chiana, located about 400 meters above sea level, in the province of Arezzo, from which is 33 km away. The origin of Lucignano probably dates from the period of the Roman Empire, when the top of the hill where today the country there was a “castrum” that controlled ...

Sansepolcro rises in the Upper Tiber Valley, in the eastern end of Tuscany, about forty kilometers from the city of Arezzo. Charming Renaissance town, Sansepolcro owes much of its fame to Piero della Francesca, a famous artist who was born here in the early fifteenth century. The center still retains its character as a city of art, with its majestic ...

Pienza is a wonderful village that lies on a hill dominates the Val d’ Orcia at about 490 amsl. The small city is approximately 50 km from Siena and is reachable travel along the Cassia until San Quirico d’ Orcia and then following the indications for Pienza. Another road that can be used is the Siena-Bettolle exiting at Sinalunga and ...

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 ...

Chiusi lies in the extreme south of the Valdichiana on a hill at approximately 400 amsl. it’s a famous city for its Etruscan tombs and its historical center. The city is reached in car from Florence or Rome through the Highway of the Sun (Autostrade del Sole, A1), exit Chiusi-Chianciano Terme, from the exit are 3 km more. The distance ...