Reasons to visit Tuscany

Every Tuscan tourist guide will give you information about Firenze, Pisa, Siena, San Gimignano or Lucca.  On our site we would like to give you information about the local villages and events, these are details that won’t be in your guide book!

La Colombaia is situated on the outskirts of Cerreto Guidi.  Our village is surrounded by gently rolling hills and fantastic views in every direction.   Just standing and admiring the landscape you will feel the pace of life slowing down. Walking around the old streets it is very easy to find medieval and renaissance traces, this is largely due to the Medici family. Climb up the “Scalee of Buontalenti” (very ancient steps) and you will arrive at the very top of the village. From here you can find the magnificent Villa Medicea (a Unesco protected site since July 2013). Inside the Villa you can visit the museum of hunting and see all the portraits of the Medici family members. Following the signs you can enter straight from the Villa into the Church of San Leonardo completely restored and full of religious treasures. (There is a street market in the village on Saturdays.)

About 2km from Cerreto Guidi you will find Vinci, the birthplace of the genius Leonardo. Vinci’s old historical centre is a delight to visit.  There are various reproductions of this work, including a horse, inspired by his drawings and a wooden sculpture of L’Uomo di Vinci (Vinci’s man), inspired by the famous Man of Vitruvio. A short walk takes you too his birthplace and the Da Vinci Museum is definitely worth a visit. Many scale models of his machines are on display, along with many drawings. (Street market on Wednesday morning)

Empoli (11km far from Cerreto Guidi) is the closest town to La Colombaia.  From Empoli’s train station you can easliy reach Firenze or any other Tuscan destination. Empoli’s historical traces go back to Roman times, although the land reclamation of the territory is mostly linked to the Etruscans. Empoli recently became famous for it’s glass production. (Street market on Thursday morning)

Driving towards Firenze you can stop in at Montelupo Fiorentino (15km from Cerreto Guidi), very famous in Europe for it’s School of Ceramics. The village is ideally situated next to the river Arno, which provides the necessary clay.  During the time of the Medici family, Montelupo became known for it’s ceramics.  Ceramics were considered useful for daily life, but quickly became an art form in expressing the wealth of the noble families. Today you can appreciate this history visiting the centre of the village, where it’s still possible to get into small artisan shops, and visit the Ceramic Museum. (Street market on Tuesday morning)

Going towards Pisa, San Miniato (15km from Cerreto Guidi) deserves your attention. The historical centre is beautiful and the town commands fantastic views to rival any of the Sienese hill towns. The town is famous for the International Market of white truffles, the market starts in the 2nd weekend of November and carries on for 3 weeks. ( Street market on Thursday morning)

Driving towards Siena, 35km from Cerreto Guidi, you can stop in Certaldo. This is the town where Boccaccio was born;  the beautiful old medieval centre of the town is reached by funicular.