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BARBERINO VAL D'ELSA
Barberino Val d’Elsa is located along the ancient Via
Cassia and is the capital of a vast territory plotted with small
and charming villages, full of history and monuments. All the hills
which surround Barberino preserve a church, a castle, a villa or
a small chapel on the top and the best way to visit the surroundings
of the capital is to go trekking or biking following the trekking
paths.
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An
ancient Roman settlement, Barberino was conquered by the Florentines
who made the first boundary wall which can still be seen. It was the
homeland of the Barberini who in the 17th century gave Rome Pope Urban
VIII. In the old part of the town, well-preserved and with a panoramic
location, you can visit the Church dei Santi Bartolomeo e Stefano,
a Neo-Gothic building by the architect Giuseppe Castelucci. In the
countryside around Barberino, where the wine Chianti Classico Docg
is produced, you have to stop at the hill where the Castello di Semifonte
used to lie and from which the Ghibellines tried to reach Florence
in the hands of the Guelphs. The Florentine answer had not to wait
and in 1260 the Republic destroyed the Castello di Semifonte prohibiting
with a special edict any reconstruction on the hill. Only in the 16th
century was the Chapel di San Michele Arcangelo built, designed by
Santi di Tito with a cupola which reproduces on a one to eight scale
the one of Santa Maria del Fiore. A stop at the chapel allows you
to appreciate the superb view over the countryside towards Siena and
Florence.
Do not miss the Capella di Sant’Appiano, one of the oldest
Romanesque churches in the Florentine area. The oldest parts date
back to the XI century and are made in stone, while the remaining
part of the building, from the following century, are in brick. The
nearby Antiquarium houses archaeological remains from the neighbourhood
and two pilasters from the old cloister.
A trip around Barberino will make you discover fortified castles,
farms and villas on the hills as a testimony of the past. Petrognano
preserves a fortress which needs reconstruction. Linari is a charming
example of medieval architecture. Tignano is a small walled centre
with a lovely view. Vico d’Elsa preserves it palaces and the
Oratorio di San Bernardo with frescoes by Giovanni di San Giovanni.
Monsanto features a medieval castle. The area around Barberino can
thus offer a fascinating landscape, which is the outcome of the relationship
between man and nature. Barberino is getting more and more known by
the tourists thanks to the accommodations in farms and the great variation
of restaurants and inns.
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