Tourist information about the region Along the Elsa
Along the Elsa We change direction, moving from north to south along the course of the river Elsa. The town of
Castelfiorentino, in ancient times the Castello di Timignano, is situated at a road junction close to the bridge over the Elsa. The town is dominated by the parish church of Sant`lppolito, while lower down we find the brick church of San Francesco. The spiritual centre is, however, the sanctuary
of Santa Verdiana, with a Baroque church the interior of which is decorated with frescoes portraying scenes from the life of the saint. Next to the church is the Museo di Arte Sacra, displaying panel paintings from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries, the most precious being a Madonna and Child attributed to Cimabue. The Centra Comunale d`arte, instead, houses frescoes illustrating the life of the Virgin by Benozzo Gozzoli, originating from two tabernacles in the vicinity.
To the south-west of Castelfiorentino is
Montaione, set in a hilly area between the
Elsa and the Egola. The old town centre was
severely damaged in the
Second World War, but the
fourteenth-century Palazzo
Pretorio houses the Museo
Civico, with an interesting
archaeological section. A
highly significant and duly
famous spiritual site is San
Vivaldo, with" a Sacro Monte
founded by Fra Tommaso of
Florence: there are
seventeen chapels
decorated with polychrome
terracottas, elaborated from
1515 on, designed to recall
the holy sites of Jerusalem.
Nearby is the Franciscan
convent, with a church
dedicated to Santa Maria
Assunta e San Francesco.
In the former barn of the
convent is a permanent
exhibition illustrating the special features of
the site.
Not far from Montaione, in what was a central position within the mediaeval road network (the Via Francigena and the Via Volterrana) stands
Gambassi Terme, a spot highly
appreciated for its salty waters, particularly
beneficial in treatment of ailments of the digestive tract. In the past it was very famous for its glass production, and the giassmakers of Gambassi were in great demand throughout Italy in the Renaissance period. Excavations have brought to light the old kilns, while a permanent exhibition "Glass production in Gambassi in the XIII-XIV centuries" allows visitors to admire the products created during this span of time. Gambassi stands what was one of the important stopping-places on the old Via Francigena, the parish church of Santa Maria a Chianni, a Romanesque jewel inspired by Luccan-Pisan models.
Returning towards the Elsa, we see
Certaldo soaring aloft; the town has now developed over the surrounding plain, but its ancient nucleus is well preserved within its intact gates: fine brick buindings, outstanding among them the Palazzo Pretorio with its facade emblazoned with aristocratic coats-of-arms, tower-houses and the famous house-museum of Giovanni
Boccaccio. Dating to the twelfth century is the church of Santi Jacopo e Filippo, where the Beata Giulia spent the last years of her life, and which now houses the Museum of Sacred Art containing paintings, gold and silverware and lamps, mostly originating from the parish church of San Lazzaro a Lucardo, as well as a thirteenth-century
wooden crucifix. Close to the Palazzo Vicariale is the church of San Tommaso, housing a fresco by Benozzo Gozzoli, the Tabernacle of the Condemned, which in 1957 wad detached from the original wall structure that is still visible in Piazza dei Macelli.
Set on a watershed between the Elsa and Pesa valleys, overlooking the territories of
Chianti is
Montespertoli, which has also given its name to a Wine Road; in this area two DOCG wines are produced: the
Chianti Montespertoli and the
Chianti Coin Fiorentini.
The wine-growing vocation has provided the inspiration for the creation of the Centra per la Cultura del Vino I Lecci. The original nucleus of Montespertoli developed from the parish church of San Piero in Mercato, now the premises of the Museo di Arte Sacra, which contains paintings, vestments and silverware originating from the churches of the territory, the most precious piece being a Madonna and Child by Filippo Lippi. In the surroundings of Montespertoli are various interesting castles, such as that of Montegufoni (now a rural holiday centre) belonging to the Acciaioli family, that of Poppiano belonging to the Guicciardini family, and that of Lucardo, one of the oldest, where we can also visit the church of San Martino e San Giusto a Lucardo, with a fine panel painting by Raffaello Botticini in the interior
.. from
Empolese Valdelsa ( Apt -
Florence )
