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IL VALDARNO INFERIORE
The Valdarno Inferiore begins at the confluence of the rivers
Pesa and Elsa and continues until the seaside.
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The
biggest and most important productive and commercial centre is Empoli,
where many businesses in the clothing and glass sector are concentrated.
The historical centre of Empoli preserves some remains of the boundary
wall from the 15th century and the marvellous Collegiata di Sant’Andrea
which faces the main square. The only original part of the Collegiata
is the lower part of the Romanesque façade, in white and green
marble, while the higher part, destroyed during WWII, was restructured
according to the Romanesque-Gothic architecture. The Museo della Collegiata
holds masterpieces by Florentine and Tuscan artists from the 14th
and the 15th century. Visit the Chiesa di Santo Stefano, raised in
the 14th century and frescoed from 1424 by Masolino di Panicale and
his pupils. In the nearby Pontorme, where the painter Iacopo Carrucci,
called Il Pontormo, was born, you find the Chiesa di San Michele,
which preserves many important artworks . The home of Il Pontormo
was recently purchased by the municipality in order to transform it
into a museum with works, exhibitions and a library. Empoli also houses
the Casa Busoni, in the home of the famous contemporary pianist. Here
you also find the Centro Studi Busoniani which features an archive,
a museum and a library, apart from the manuscripts, furniture, posters
and relics.
After Empoli, you reach the area of Montelupo Fiorentino,
famous in the whole world for the manufacturing of china. Originally
Montelupo was the crossroad for the communication between the Florentine
area with the Apennine and the Tyrrhenian coast. The strategic location
and the abundance of water favoured the opening of many manufacturing
activities, among which the most important one was the china production
which had its most splendid period between the 15th and the 16th century.
Still today the artisan-artists of Montelupo keep the tradition alive,
making masterpieces which are exported all over the world. Every year
the last Sunday in June, Montelupo celebrates the “Festa Internazionale
della Ceramica” (the International China Festival), while the
professional china school carries out annual courses and intense workshops
for a week or a week-end. Montelupo probably developed out of a castle
in the Early Middle Ages and then it was conquered by the Florentines
in 1204, who then enlarged the military settlement. You can still
see remains of the boundary wall built in the 14th century close to
the Prioria di San Lorenzo.
Visit the Pieve di San Giovanni Evangelista where a marvellous fresco
“Madonna in trono con Bambino e quattro Santi” is preserved
and the Villa Medicea dell’Ambrogiana, raised by the Medici family
in the 16th century and today the Psychiatric hospital. The century-old
activity to manufacture china has lead to the opening of a Museo Archeologico
della Ceramica, where you find the outcome of twenty years excavations
around the Valdarno and the production of china with items from the
13th century until today. Around Montelupo, in the area that comprehends
Pulica and the rivers of Pesa and Virginio, you find the Parco Archeologico,
Tecnologico e Naturalistico, where you find the remains of a Roman
villa from the I century b.C., and where the environment is protected
and there is a modern installation for advanced space research. In
front of Montelupo, on the other bank of the river Arno, you should
stop at the villages Capraia and Limite, included in one single municipality.
At Capraia you can visit the remains of ancient fortresses and the
Chiesa di Santo Stefano where there are interesting paintings and
vestments. Montereggi, close to Limite, features a vast archaeological
area with remains from the Etruscan and Roman periods.
On the slopes of the mountain Montalbano you find Vinci,
a picturesque village famous for being Leonardo da Vinci’s hometown.
In the middle of a beautiful landscape, where Docg wines and extra
virgin olive oil are produced, Vinci is dominated by the high bell-tower
from the 19th century and the Castello dei Conti Guidi, with the characteristic
almond-shape. The Castle hosts the Museo Leonardiano, where you find
one of the biggest and most complete collection or original machineries
designed by the genius of the Renaissance. The nearby Biblioteca Leonardiana
is a centre with documentation on Leonardo and his time, where there
are reproductions of all the manuscripts and drawings by Leonardo
and all his published works. In the historical centre of Vinci you
can visit the small Oratorio della Santissima Annunziata which preserves
an Annunciation by Fra Paolino da Pistoia. With a reservation you
can also visit the Pieve di San Giovanni Battisti in Greti at Sant’Ansamo
from the 11th century, embellished with precious paintings. In the
area around Vinci you find the protected area Montalbano which embraces
a vast part of the countryside characterised by the olive-trees, vineyards
and chestnut forests. In the 17th century some of the areas which
today are protected, were assigned by the Medici family for the Parco
Reale Mediceo, as a game reserve. For this reason the forests were
always taken care of and protected and today they represent a precious
naturalistic heritage with trails for walking or biking. One of these
trails goes to the home of Leonardo, which hosts a permanent exhibition
with reproductions of the drawings and the maps made by Leonardo.
Cerreto Guidi represent a unique circle-shaped architecture
with the Villa Medicea in the centre, which is a building probably
designed by a young Buontalenti and commissioned by the Grand Duke
Cosimo I. The imposing building preserves the original furniture and
a collection of portraits of the members of the Medici family. You
enter the villa by the monumental staircase called the “Ponti
Medicei”. The nearby Pieve di San Leonardo, with unknown origins,
became the parish church in Cerreto Guidi in the 15th century. Inside
the sober late Romanesque building you find many paintings and a marvellous
font by Giovanni della Robbia. The surroundings of Cerreto Guidi are
a rural area, characterised by farms, cottages, villas and churches.
The protected area in Cerreto Guidi and the Palude of Fucecchio, the
biggest marsh in Italy, are very interesting. After the drainage which
has been carried out all over Italy, the Padule of Fucecchio is one
of the last refuges of many typical march plants and animals, such
as the heron, the stork and the crane. In the marsh , the paradise
for bird-watching, there are 9 walking itineraries.
On the west slopes of the mountain Monte Albano you find Fucecchio,
a big industrial centre specialised in leather tanning. Conquered
by the Florentines in 1330, Fucecchio today preserves the elegant
streets and palaces, among which it is worth to mention the Collegiata
di San Battisti. The Museo Cittadino, originally hosted in the Chiesa
di San Salvatore, features paintings, gold-works and vestment from
the 14th century to the 18th century, will soon be transferred to
the new premises in the Villa Corsini.
Almost at the entrance of Florence, the last town of the Valdarno
Inferiore is Lastra a Signa which is a big industrial and residential
centre though it still preserves its boundary wall built in 1377 by
the Florentines. Visit the Chiesa di Santa Maria alla Lastra and the
elegant Spedale di Sant’Antonio, probably built by Brunelleschi.
Close to Lastra you have to stop at the Pieve di San Martino, a Romanesque
building which has been modified several times and features a marvellous
apse from the 15th century, designed by Leon Battista Alberti. In
the nearby Museo di Arte Sacra you find paintings, furnishing, and
vestment. In Lastra you can also visit the Casa di Caruso, the Neapolitan
tenor famous all over the world. The Villa, which soon will be the
an academy in order to discover new talents, was bought by Caruso
in 1906 and embellished with a marvellous Italian garden. In the surroundings
there are several ancient villas plotted and it is worth to visit
the picturesque fortress of Malmantile which preserves the 15th century
and the original urban plant from the Late Middle Ages.
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