Castelnuovo dell’Abate: a medieval village

Castelnuovo dell’Abate is a small settlement located about 389 meters above sea level in the municipality of Montalcino, in the Val d’Orcia. This village retains its medieval aspect intact. The town dominates the famous abbey of Sant’Antimo from the top of a hill and is immersed in a beautiful countryside with hills covered with olive trees, vines and cypresses. The ...

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Magliano in Toscana: a walled village in the Maremma

The origin of Magliano in Toscana is Etruscan (Heba), later it became a Roman municipality maintaining the Etruscan name of Heba. In a pact stipulated by Uguccione of the Aldobrandeschi counts in the year 1097, Magliano is mentioned for the first time, indicated as the center of a court, perhaps already the seat of a castle. THE WALLS Magliano in ...

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Monticchiello: a medieval village in the Val d’Orcia

Monticchiello is a small medieval town located halfway between Pienza and Montepulciano along a secondary road that joins the two locations. The town which is located at an altitude of 546 meters is still today partly surrounded by the ancient walls of the XIII century. The small village of Monticchiello is immersed in the beautiful hilly landscape of the Val ...

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Castelfiorentino: ancient outpost in the Valdelsa

The town of Castelfiorentino is located in the southern part of the Florentine province. Castelfiorentino extends on a hill along the Via Francigena on the ruins of a Roman settlement and is made up of an ancient part and a modern part. The municipal territory is crossed by the river Elsa which flows downstream from the historic center located on ...

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Barberino di Mugello outlet: the realm of Made in Italy

The Barberino Designer Outlet is located in Mugello, at the Barberino di Mugello exit of the Autostrada del Sole (A1), just 30 minutes by motorway from Florence and less than an hour from Bologna. The Outlet is built like a classic Tuscan village, it houses shops and boutiques of the big names in footwear, clothing, underwear, perfumery, sports, etc. Inside ...

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The Diaccia Botrona: a vast marshy environment

Diaccia Botrona, Castiglione della Pescaia. Author and Copyright Marco Ramerini

Diaccia Botrona can be reached from Castiglione della Pescaia. Here, coming from Marina di Grosseto, just before the Giorgini bridge, turn right following the signs for Casa Ximenes or Casa Rossa. Another entrance to the area is from the Castiglionese provincial road, in the direction of Grosseto, up to the Ponti di Badia, where you turn right for the Clodia ...

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Montaione: in the past the center of glass art

Montaione is a town located on a hill at an altitude of 342 meters overlooking the Val d’Elsa, in an important archaeological area as many finds of Etruscan and Roman origin have been found. The municipality has about 3,700 inhabitants and preserves the remains of walls, towers and a postern dating back to the medieval period when Montaione was an ...

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Malmantile: a fortified village to defend Florence

The walled village of Malmantile is located on a hill southwest of Lastra a Signa about 20 km from Florence. This is an interesting excursion from Lastra a Signa, the village was in the Middle Ages, together with the walled villages of Lastra a Signa and Signa, one of the three defensive bastions of the city of Florence against Pisa. ...

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Lastra a Signa: a village with intact medieval walls

Lastra a Signa is located 15 km from Florence, its name was originally “Lastra a Gualandi”, which derives from the name of the noble Gualandi family. The name Lastra derives from the stone (slab) that was found in quarries near the city. The village has medieval origins, as a rest station on the road between Florence and Pisa, since the ...

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Vicopisano: a village fortified by Brunelleschi

This town is an interesting stage between Pisa and Lucca. Vicopisano is a beautiful fortified village located at the foot of Monte Pisano (Monte Serra) about 20 km from Pisa and 30 km from Lucca. HISTORY Vicopisano is mentioned in historical documents starting from the 10th century when it was called Vici Auseris Sala and then Vico Auserissola. Initially the ...

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Cathedral of Pisa: an architectural masterpiece

The Cathedral of Pisa, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta, is the main example of a religious building in the Pisan Romanesque style, it was built between 1064 and 1118, the year of its consecration, and expanded in the following centuries. Various architects worked on its construction including Buscheto, Rainaldo, Guglielmo and Biduino. A MASTERPIECE OF ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE Masterpiece of Romanesque ...

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Piazza dei Miracoli or Piazza del Duomo in Pisa

The Piazza del Duomo of Pisa or Campo dei Miracoli is the main tourist attraction of this Tuscan city. The square has been one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1987, overlooked by buildings of great artistic value such as the Duomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta), the Baptistery (dedicated to St. John the Baptist), the Campo Santo monumental ...

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Napoleon on the Island of Elba: Portoferraio

If, on Elba, you are following in the footsteps of Napoleon Bonaparte, you absolutely cannot miss a visit to the Palazzina dei Mulini in Portoferraio, where Napoleon resided for almost ten months, between 1814 (on 4 May 1814 he landed on the island of Elba) and 1815 (on February 26, 1815 he left for France), in addition to this, it ...

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The Chianti vineyards in autumn: a marvel of colours

Colori dei vigneti nel Chianti nei pressi della Torre del Chito. Autore e Copyright Marco Ramerini.

Autumn is the season of colors, and this also happens in the Chianti vineyards, that is the hilly area located between Florence and Siena. An area rich in history and art, but particularly beautiful for the union created by man and nature. When do the Chianti vineyards take on colour? There may be slight differences depending on the year, but ...

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The dome of San Donnino: where the city of Semifonte was

This dome is a 1:8 scale reproduction of the dome of the Florence Cathedral In the countryside around Barberino Val d’Elsa there are some interesting medieval villages, such as those of Tignano and Linari, and religious buildings, such as those of the Pieve di Sant’Appiano and the chapel of San Donnino. On this page we will write about the chapel ...

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Linari: a small village in the Val d’Elsa

Selciato, Linari, Barberino Val d'Elsa. Autore e Copyright Marco Ramerini.

The small semi-abandoned village of Linari is located in a beautiful position on a hillock 225 meters above sea level overlooking the river Elsa. It is a small fortified village of which some interesting medieval evidence remains. The first historical evidence of this castle dates back to the 11th century. Linari had importance since its foundation due to its strategic ...

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Montemassi: a pretty medieval village

Montemassi is a charming medieval village in the Grosseto Maremma, located in the municipality of Roccastrada along the road that connects Roccastrada to Massa Marittima and Gavorrano, about 15 km from the Giuncarico exit of the Aurelia. The village is located on the slopes of a hill full of olive trees, at an altitude of 280 metres. AN IMPRESSIVE MEDIEVAL ...

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Massa Marittima: a medieval jewel

Massa Marittima is a stupendous town full of interesting medieval artistic testimonies. Probably of Etruscan origin, the city preserves many monuments from its most flourishing period, which can be traced back to the mid-9th century when the bishop, up until then resident in Populonia, took office there. The period of maximum splendor of the city is however that between the ...

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Pitigliano: one of the most scenic villages in Tuscany

Pitigliano is located in the extreme south of Tuscany on the border with Lazio. It is about 75 km from Grosseto (the shortest route is the one that passes through Istia d’Ombrone, Scansano and Manciano) and about 110 km from Siena (along the Via Cassia, you pass through Monteroni d’Arbia, Buonconvento, San Quirico d ‘Orcia, at Ponte a Rigo, turn ...

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San Bruzio: remains of a Romanesque church in Maremma

The ruins of this beautiful church are located just 2 km southeast of Magliano in Toscana. To reach them leaving Magliano you must first take the road that leads to Orbetello, and after traveling a few hundred meters on this road you must turn left at the crossroads taking the road that leads to Marsiliana, after just over a kilometer ...

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Tavarnelle Val di Pesa: resting place on the Strada Regia

Tavarnelle Val di Pesa is a town located about 378 meters above sea level in the Chianti hills in the province of Florence, which is about 32 km away. Tavarnelle was born in the Middle Ages as a post station along the Via Regia Romana which led from Florence towards the Via Francigena and the Val d’Elsa, its ancient name ...

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San Casciano in Val di Pesa: production of wine and oil

San Casciano in Val di Pesa is a town located at an altitude of 310 metres, in the Chianti hills in the province of Florence, which is about 22 km away. San Casciano was already a post station in Roman times. Subsequently, in the Middle Ages, the town developed at the meeting point between the Strada Regia Romana and an ...

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Impruneta: the town of the Florentine cotto

Impruneta is a beautiful town located at the beginning of the Chianti hills in the province of Florence, which is about 17 km away. Already in Etruscan times, the sixth century BC, where Impruneta is today there was a place of worship. AN IMPORTANT SANCTUARY But the history of the town itself dates back to the Middle Ages (11th century), ...

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Montespertoli: the city of Chianti wine

Montespertoli is a town of medieval origin that extends on the top of a hill, 257 meters above sea level, which overlooks the Valdarno, the Val d’Elsa and the Apennine range up to the Apuan Alps. Its territory, largely hilly, is made up of vineyards, olive groves and wooded areas. Its strategic position, just 30 km from Florence, allows you ...

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The Forte delle Rocchette: an idyllic stretch of coast

The Forte delle Rocchette stands on the sea a few km north of Castiglione della Pescaia, to reach it take the road to Follonica, pass Riva del Sole and Roccamare, immediately after the crossroads for the latter location take the road to the left for Rocchette, a few more kilometers and you reach the beach located under the castle from ...

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