Villages

The environs of Pisa offer landscapes of a time gone by, where harmony and tranquillity are preserved and small hidden hamlets are the keepers of history, art and culture.

In the Monti Pisani area, the village of Vicopisano has retained the appearance of a fortress and boasts a considerable medieval heritage. Of particular interest are the twelve towers, two medieval buildings and the Rocca del Brunelleschi, open to the public with guided tours.

A route around the churches of the area starts in Vicopisano with the Church of Santa Maria, the Church of San Jacopo in Lupeta, continues with the Church of Santa Giulia in Caprona and the Church of San Giovanni in San Giovanni alla Vena, and ends with the small Romanesque Church of San Martino al Bagno Antico, inside Uliveto Spa.

The Caprona Tower, between Pisa and Vicopisano, rests precariously on a rock spur overhaging a quarry. The tower is all that remains of a castle that is linked to the great poet Dante Alighieri, who took part in the battle for Caprona in August 1289. The incident is featured in the 21st Canto of Dante's Inferno.

Nearby Calci there are two major sites: the Certosa Monumentale (Monumental Charterhouse) and the Natural History Museum of Pisa University, housed in a wing of the complex, where important mineralogical, paleontological and zoological collections are preserved. The Certosa is a monumental Baroque-style complex founded in the 15th century by the bequest of an Armenian merchant. It is formed of a large internal courtyard and a series of surrounding buildings containing cellars, orchards and areas suitable for Carthusian life. It was used by Carthusian monks until the 1970s and is open for visits today.

The village of Buti was the setting of terrible battles between the Tuscan cities and is worth a visit for its Villa Medicea, Castel Tonini, overlooking the town, and the churches of San Francesco and the Ascensione, the latter also known as Santa Maria delle Nevi.

Completing the picture of the Monti Pisani is the ancient fortified village of Cascina, with a partly conserved 13th-century wall, the characteristic hamlet of Filettole in Vecchiano and San Giuliano Terme.

San Giuliano is not just an ideal destination for a break at the thermal springs, but also a starting point for interesting historical and architectural excursions to Ripafratta Fortress, the Romanesque churches of Rigoli and Pugnano and the Rupecava Hermitage.

The Valdarno area presents a landscape where the typically Tuscan hills surrounding San Miniato, covered in olive groves and dotted with medieval towns and hamlets, contrast with the valley bed with its thriving productive and commercial activity. The area is rich in tradition and history and conserves the traces of the Via Francigena, an old pilgrimage trail that is still well preserved in part.

In this area we find Bientina, a village which, despite having lost its medieval appearance, offers the visitor sights such as the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, where the remains of San Valentino are preserved, the Museum of Sacred Art, the Etruscan Museum and the Church of San Girolamo.

Calcinaia lies in the centre of the Valdarno. Its name refers to the ceramic working tradition and to the numerous lime kilns, which have been active since the 1970s. The Historical Regatta on the river Arno is a characteristic event held in the month of May in honour of the patron saint Ubaldesca Taccini.

Castelfranco di Sotto, situated at the foot of the Cerbaie hills, has retained the layout of the Roman era, with two main streets that intersect at right angles and lead to the four gates. Among the points of interest are the Palazzo del Municipio and the Chiesa Collegiata.

Montopoli in Val d’Arno was defined by Boccaccio as a 'model castle' on account of its powerful fortifications. The Arch and Tower Torre di Castruccio remain as reminders of a past that the town relives through an archery challenge, the Disfida dell’arco, on the second Sunday of September.

The urban structure of Santa Maria a Monte is very special: the houses and buildings delineate the entire spiral path of the street. A stroll along the streets reveal traces of the medieval defensive system: arches, tower-houses, the clock tower, the mayoral building and the Chiesa Collegiata, containing prized works of art. There you can also find the "Casa Carducci" Museum, the family home of the widely renowned poet Giosuè.

The countryside of the Pisan Hills and the Valdera is distinctive for its rolling mounds crossed by gentle waterways that join the river Era.

Here, where nature and mankind have joined to conserve an extraordinary landscape, we find the hamlet of Lari, the town of cherries and an orange flag of the Touring Club. The medieval urban structure is still intact, conserving the picturesque residences, the narrow alleys and the imposing mass of the Castello dei Vicari, which can be accessed via a stone stairway offering a splendid view over the surrounding hills, rich in vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees.

Nearby Peccioli is outlined on the hills with the unmistakable bell tower of the Church of San Verano, the work of the architect Bellincioni, containing valuable works of the Pisan school. A town that has been awarded the orange flag, it merges the old with the modern in an original way, offering sites of interest such as the Palazzo Pretorio and the Russian Icon Museum, dedicated to Francesco Bigazzi, a journalist from Moscow who donated his collection of 19th- and 20th-century icons to the municipality.

The atmospheres and rhythms of ancient times fill the air in rural hamlets like Terricciola, Chianni and Palaia. Palaia, a town of Etruscan origins, is a starting point for countryside excursions of great beauty, such as the route that crosses the hamlets of Colleoli, Villa Saletta and Toiano, a deserted hamlet lying among sweet hills and harsh badlands. Worth a visit is the Church of San Martino, the venue of an International Choir festival that takes place in the summer.

A visit to the village and former medieval castle of Lorenzana is ideal for those who wish to enjoy the view of the entire profile of the Pisan Hills.

Lajatico is particularly interesting for the imposing Pietracassia Fortress. It was built in the Lombard era to keep watch over the road that led to the copper mines of Montecatini and is today considered to be one of Tuscany's chief examples of late medieval architecture.

Over the last few years Lajatico has enjoyed increasing popularity as a favoured tourist destination as the birth place of the famous tenor Andrea Bocelli. The charming setting of the Teatro del Silenzio plays host to a concert each year in July, with the participation of Bocelli himself and other international artists.

Moving along to the southern part of the province of Pisa, we come across the Val di Cecina and its extraordinary landscape. Following the roads and the ancient tracks that criss-cross this vast territory we find ourselves faced with a breathtaking sight: the bare slopes of the hills give way to the "calanchi" and "biancane" formations, the vast wooded areas turn into Volterra's balze (cliffs) as the charming landscape makes way for the geothermal area.

And it is precisely the beauty and tranquillity of the countryside that characterizes villages such as Guardistallo, the town of a thousand nativity scenes, Montescudaio and Casale Marittimo. Recent archaeological excavations in the surrounding area have brought to light the remains of a 7th-century B.C. Etruscan village, as well as the necropolis of Casa Nocera, a burial complex for Etruscan warriors. We recommend a visit to villages of Montecatini Val di Cecina, dominated by the Belforti Tower, and Pomarance, with the fortress Rocca Sillana and noble buildings such as Casa Bicocchi and Palazzo Ricci.

Castelnuovo Val di Cecina is a hillside hamlet that features an unmistakable "bunch of grapes" shape. The environs feature a varied landscape that ranges from a mountainous environment to the Mediterranean scrub to then become hilly again, with vineyards and olive groves.