Certaldo

Certaldo Alto sits above the modern town in the Val d'Elsa and is built almost entirely in brick rather than stone, which gives it a warmer and more uniform look than most Tuscan hill villages. Giovanni Boccaccio's family came from here; he spent his last years in the town and died in 1375, and the house identified as his, rebuilt after wartime damage, is a museum with a library. The Palazzo Pretorio carries the coats of arms of successive Florentine governors in glazed terracotta across its facade. A funicular climbs from the lower town, and the village is closed to traffic.

Background

Certaldo lies in the middle of the Valdelsa, about 35 kilometres southwest of Florence Cathedral, while Siena is 40 minutes away by train to the south. Etruscan tombs have been found on two of its hills, Poggio alle Fate and Poggio del Boccaccio. Boccaccio may have been born and died here, and he was buried in the town in 1375. His red-brick house, restored in 1823, was fitted out with old furniture, and a statue of him went up in the main square in 1875. Inside the Palazzo Pretorio, once home to the Florentine governors, are frescoes from the 13th to the 16th century. The actor Ernesto Calindri and the football manager Luciano Spalletti were born in Certaldo.

Source: Wikipedia, "Certaldo"

Highlights

• The brick village - a hill town built in brick rather than stone.
• Boccaccio's house - a museum and library on the main street.
• The Palazzo Pretorio - a facade covered in governors' coats of arms.
• The funicular - the climb from the modern town below.

When to go

April to October; Mercantia, a street theatre festival, fills the village in July. Summer evenings are the best time. Winter is very quiet.

What to expect

The house is a postwar reconstruction after bomb damage. The village is small, walked in an hour. Mercantia week is ticketed and packed.

Nearby

San Gimignano lies south; Florence is northeast.

Key facts