Impruneta is a beautiful village situated situated at the beginning of the Chianti hills in the province of Florence, from which is about 17 km. 

Already in the Etruscan period, sixth century BC, where is today Impruneta, there was a place of worship. But the real history of the village dates back to the Middle Ages (11th century), when it was founded, following the discovery of the sacred image of Our Lady, the present Basilica of Santa Maria at Impruneta. The construction of the shrine provoked a large development of the village surrounding with the formation of an important market, Impruneta later was head of one of the 72 leagues ofthe Contado Fiorentino. In memory of the role of the market remains the Fair of San Luca, who was for centuries one of the most important cattle markets in Tuscany. 

The expansion of the city of Florence, greatly influenced the history of Impruneta, in the twelfth century the Florentines destroyed the fortress of Montebuoni, controlled by the family of Buondelmonti, which dominating the entire town. Impruneta became so, permanently, part of the Florentine territory, as part of the Galluzzo podesteria. From the fourteenth century, thanks to highly favorable nature of the land, was developed the art of brick which still today Impruneta is famous in the world. Only in 1929 was constituted the municipality Impruneta. 

In July 1944 Impruneta was severely bombed suffering many casualties among the population and extensive damage to structures, among them was also damaged the Basilica of Santa Maria in fact, many of the decorations that could be seen on the ceiling have been lost. 

The Basilica of Santa Maria at Impruneta is the most important historical building in the village, it is at the center of the town, on the square Buondelmonti, on one side of the Basilica are the Loggiati del Pellegrino, built between 1643 and 1670. The interior of the basilica has a single nave and preserves works of considerable merit, including a Nativity of the Virgin by Passignano (1602), a vocation of San Pietro by Jacopo Chimenti da Empoli (1606) and two Aediculae attributed to Michelozzo and decorated with glazed terracotta by Luca della Robbia preserving the relics of the True Cross (the right one), and the image of the Madonna of Impruneta (the left one). 

Very interesting is the Museo del Tesoro di Santa Maria at Impruneta (Museum of Sacred Art), which collects illuminated manuscripts, gold and other material of the Basilica. 

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