Discover Vinci and surroundings
Vinci, Montalbano, Leonardo Hills
Tours > Vinci and surroundings
Leonardo da Vinci tour
During the guided tour you will dive into Leonardo’s life and experience the origin of the genius at his home! We will tell you the “infinite” stories about Leonardo. The Leonardian horse of Nina Akamu on the Piazza della Libertà, the Vitruvian Man sculpture by Mario Ceroli on the square behind the caste of the Counts Guidi , the Baptisimal Font of Santa Croce Church, are all places you can experience with us.
You will enjoy a one-to-one dating with Leonardo’s projects, which include, among the others, studies of anatomy, studies of water, of air, and a full immersion in his micro and macro world by visiting the Museo Leonardiano with us.
From Vinci we will arrive to the Montalbano Hills to Anchiano, Leonardo’s birthplace. Anchiano is surrounded by that loved, investigated Nature,
“Nature, teacher of all things”, whose motion and emotion was masterly painted by Leonardo.
You will enjoy the full scale, HD digital reproductions of Leonardo’s paintings all gathered in the Historic House, Villa il Ferrale, nestled in a wonderful setting.
You will experience the “ghiribizzo”, the prime mover of the genius, in the Biblioteca Leonardiana, among the main research centers on Leonardo’s work in Italy, with a collection of over 16.500 texts by and about Leonardo da Vinci.
Among these, there are duplicates of the entirety of Leonardo’s manuscripts, drawings and printed works, starting from the first edition of A Treatise of Painting, 1651.
Vinci, one of the greatest geniuses of the Renaissance, who included the Montalbano landscape and flora in a number of his tables and drawings.The Montalbano landscape also known as the Hills of Leonardo is dominated by typical Tuscan hills with vineyards cultivation growing in the plains or on the lower terrace fields, whilst the higher slopes are carpeted with olive groves interspersed by chestnut trees, amidst holm oak woods. Would you like to taste the extra virgin olive oil, the true gold of Montalbano, and Chianti wine of this territory?
Tour of Cerreto Guidi
The Villa in Cerreto Guidi, a Unesco World Heritage Site together with the other Medici Villas in Tuscany, rises on the hilltop and was the stronghold of the Guidi counts.
The Villa, located on its highest spot and which dominates the whole valley, bears visible witness of the presence and the power of the Gran Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici over his territory, that stretched from the slopes of the Montalbano, his hunting reserve, to the surrounding territory of the Padule, Marshland of Fucecchio.
The Villa houses the Historical Hunting Territorial Museum, that includes a large weapons collection, mainly for hunting and shooting, from the Middle Ages up to the Modern Age.
During the guided tour you enjoy the composite collections, and the multi- faceted taste of the Medici collections.
Alongside a substantial and significant core of portraits of the Medici – coming from the galleries of Florence, tapestries, paintings on wood and canvas, inlaid and painted chests, cabinets, sculptures in marble and terracotta, majolica, and artefacts featuring semi-precious stones.
You will hear themany stories on Isabella, the favourite daughter of the powerful Cosimo I de’ Medici, an extraordinary woman, “Wit, beauty, and talent made her conspicuous among all the ladies of the day, and she captivated every heart but her husband’s.
Speaking French, Spanish, and Latin fluently, a perfect musician, singing beautifully, a poetess and improvisatrice by nature, Isabella was the soul of all around her, and the fairest star of the Medici.”
Isabella, the “First lady”, died unexpectedly. Was it an honour killing? Was the Gran Duke’s daughter the young victim of the bloodiest black legend of our Renaissance, amid a thousand slanders and diplomatic agreements?
Near to the Medici Villa is the Pieve, the Parish church of San Leonardo, which, you will discover, houses very valuable works, such as the great baptismal font in glazed terracotta by Della Robbia, as well as crucifixes and paintings of remarkable workmanship. By leaving the Villa from the spectacular stepped access ramps, called “Ponti Medicei” attributed to Bernardo Buontalenti, you will reach the centre of the village, whose urban plan is characterized by a concentric network of streets that runs around the Medici Villa, which remained almost unchanged from Leonardo da Vinci’s original drawings.
The Oratory of the Holy Trinity and the Museum of the Local Memory, the MuMeLoc museum, is worth to visit. Here you will lear more about the territory and its history as well as about one of the more dramatic events in local history: the Nazi-Fascist massacre of 23 August 1944.
Tour of Empoli
Emporium, Castrum Impoli, the city of Empoli has always been at the centre of great interests. It preserves traces of the many territories, those of proximity, of a border land, where the Arno and the Elsa rivers meet.
A millenary history, rich and “colourful”, like the white and green of the Collegiata di Sant’Andrea, designed by a wise magister, most likely the same who realized the facade of the Basilica di San Miniato a Monte, in Florence.
A few steps away, in the Museo della Collegiata, we will tell you the stories of other masters, stories of “golden glows”, a colourful spring of art works including those by Giovanni Pisano, Lorenzo Monaco, Masolino, Bernardo and Antonio Rossellino, Filippo Lippi, to name a few.
Additional evidence of this rich heritage can be experienced in the historic Chiesa di Santo Stefano.
You will enjoy the MUVE, the Museum of Glass in Empoli, located in the medieval salt storage building, re-designed as the Museo del Vetro Verde. You willl be fascinated by the simplicity and beauty typical of the tuscan art and by the stories of men and women, artisans of the Empoli green glass, known as “Empoli Verde” as well as by the paintings of the Scuola Empolese! An “evergreen” story.
Enjoy another “colourful” story in Montelupo Fiorentino, one of the pottery production centers, the most important of the Renaissance. We will lead you to discover the story of craftsmanship and ceramic works in the Ceramics Museum of Montelupo.
In the nearby village: The Tuscan way of Pontorme
In Pontorme, you will experience the house in which Jacopo Carrucci, known as Pontormo, was born. Inside, the artist’s famous diary and an ancient copy of the most copied Madonna of the entire Florentine Cinquecento, the Madonna of the Book, all of them preserved in facsimile. A few steps away, in the nearby Chiesa di San Michele, the altarpiece by Pontormo depicting Saint John the Evangelist and Michael the Archangel.
Guided Tour in Certaldo
“Allegra brigata’: ‘as you may have heard, Certaldo, it is a castle of Val d’Elsa located in our district,which, although small, was already of noble men and the well-off was inhabited as you may have heard, Certaldo is a castle in the Val d’Elsa situated in our district, which, although small, was already inhabited by noble and wealthy men…
The houses of these “immigrants” people remain in Certaldo, their stories we will tell you.
The tour starts in Certaldo Basso.From Piazza Boccaccio, we can either walk up the old street c. 10-15 minutes, or sit comfortably in the funicular, which will take us up,near one of the three city gates.
During the tour, walking along Via Boccaccio, the main street of the lower part of the castle, you will be told about the story of the castle, which was part of a series of fortifications with which the Counts Alberti controlled the Val d’Elsa and discover the treasures of the village.
Palazzo dei Vicari, once home of the Alberti Counts, became from 1415 seat of the Vicar, magistrate fiorentino responsible for the administration of justice in Valdelsa and in Val di Pesa. Its story offers a fascinating insight into the medieval history of Certaldo. The tour includes the visit of the prisons, the audience hall, the chapel, and the private quarters of the Vicars.
In the Palace and in the adjacent Church of St. Thomas and Prosper, you will admire 15th and 16th century frescoes and sinopias; the Church houses the most important work, The Tabernacle of the Executed (c. 1464/65).
Enjoy more stories about out of the ordinary people and artworks in the Museum of Casa Boccaccio, the House that hosted the poet in the last years of his life, and in the Church of the Saints San Jacopo e Filippo, where Giovanni Boccaccio and Beata Giulia are buried.
Private tour rates
3 hour tour Euro 150. The rate is per tour not per person.
Friendly pets tour
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FAQ
- Are your tour accessible?
Yes, they are. Let’s contact us and design together your experience without limits
- Are your tours pets friendly?
Yes, they are welcomed on walking tours.
- Private tour rates ?
3 hour tour Euro 150. The rate is per tour not per person. Museum tickets are not included
- How can I book museum tickets?
Our tours are with a skip the line access, so please contact us.
- What languages are you tours in?
Our tours are in English, German, French, Spanish