San Miniato and surroundings
Discover San Miniato, in the heart of Tuscany, between Pisa and Florence
Tours > San Miniato and surroundings
Guided tour in San Miniato
Since the Middle Ages, San Miniato, a castle between Florence and Pisa, has always been considered strategic. It is here, that Archbishop of Canterbury, Sygeric, stopped,whilst travelling along the Via Francigena, for a homemade meal of “farm-to-table” products, in an area that was already rich in ‘farms’ managed by the powerful Pieve di San Genesio.
San Genesio is today an archeological area of great interest.The archeological data narrates the story of its entire life-span from the foundation and development of its great parish church, whose foundations are still visible, and of its graveyard up until the final and utter destruction of the whole settlement in the year 1248 at the hands of the Saminiatesi.
San Miniato, the “Ghibelline spear rising powerfully to threaten the Guelph Valdarno”, as Italian poet Giosuè Carducci once defined, is a borderland of excellence, which still preserves its monumental Fortress complex. The medieval military architecture, on the top of the hill, includes the Barbarossa Emperor Tower
within the fortess of the Emperor Frederick II, the Imperial Vicar Palace, and along the walls the “Charcoal Alleys” designed for their defense.
This tour will lead you to discover the artwork contained in these places, including churches and museums located throughout the country, and discovering the stories of many exchanges among nearby but often distant, cultures: Florence, Pisa, Siena, Lucca, Sicily, Africa.
The story of San Miniato, seat of bishops, leaves us with one of the best and original examples of Baroque in Tuscany can’t be missed. Napoleon’s visit to his elderly uncle, Canon Filippo Bonaparte, is another story we would be glad to tell you.
Would you like to discover San Miniato “Resourses” in the time of the Risorgimento? We will tell you the “unusual” story of the teacher Giosuè Carducci, the first italian to receive the Nobel Prize in literature.
Another story, the most tragic, is the Cathedral´s massacre, which the Taviani brothers turned into a great fresco in the film ‘La notte di San Lorenzo’, “The Night of the shooting stars”
This and much more you can experience in San Miniato! And by the way, here, in the city of truffles, you can eat very well, whist the wine will narrates of local and Mediterranean terroir.
A tour of San Miniato can therefore include a tasting of its typical products, wine and white truffles.
Another highlight is leather manufacturing, in Santa Croce sull’Arno, which is considered the world capital of leather, home to the most important manufacturing district dedicated to leather production in Santa Croce.
Guided Tour in Fucecchio
Fucecchio, a castle along the Via Francigena, is the extreme western foothill of heights that, from Montalbano slope between the valley of the Arno and the last stretch of the Padule of Fucecchio.
The Padule is the largest marshland in inland central Italy, covering 1800 hectares between the provinces of Florence and Pistoia. We will let you experience the story of the great journalist Indro Montanelli, through his “Stanze” in the Palazzo della Volta, a Palace that once belonged to his ancestors, the Consorti Della Volta, and today houses the Fondazione Montanelli Bassi.
From Montanelli’s Palace you will enjoy a splendid view of the surroundings and of the borough itself, in particular the Parco Corsini, with its remains of the medieval military area and religious centre.
The nearby Palazzo Corsini museum, presers a rich and varied collection displayed in three sections – archaeological – historical-artistic and naturalistic. Here you will enjoy one of the most comprehensive and panoramic views into the history of this territory between Cerbaie, the lower Valdinievole and Valdarno from the end of the Tertiary to the Modern Age.
Via the relics of Giuseppe Montanelli, on the second floor of the Palazzo Corsini, you will discover the story of the patriot, a protagonist of the “Risorgimento” the movement of Italian unification. In the section dedicated to the display of modern art,there are, paintings and sculptures of Arturo Checchi, an artist from Fucecchio.
The Museum has been enriched by the recent donation of the Bozzetti for the monument to the Massacre of the Padule by the Maestro Gino Terreni. The monument was inaugurated in Castelmartini on September 16, 2002 in the presence of the President of the Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.
Private tour rates
3 hour tour Euro 150. The rate is per tour not per person.
Pets friendly tour
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FAQ
- Private Tour rates ?
3 hour tour Euro 150. The rate is per tour not per person. Museum tickets are not
- Are your tour accessible?
Yes, they are. Let’s contact us and design together your experience without limits
- What languages are you tours in?
Our tours are in German, English, French, Spanish
- How can I book museum tickets?
Our tours are with a skip the line access, so please contact us.
- Are your tours pets friendly?
Yes, they are welcomed on walking tours.