Surroundings

Florence is just 35 min from Villa Podere La Fornace and can be easily reached by car or scheduled bus service. Our staff will be happy to recommend itineraries to follow, or book your Walking Tour of the city of Dante Alighieri, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. With three (3) days advance notice we can reserve your admission tickets to the city’s most important museums so that you can enjoy them without long waits outside.

Siena is a place of great historic and artist interest barely 45 min from Villa Podere La Fornace. Sites to see include the Cathedral and Piazza del Campo where the famous Palio horse race is run twice a year: on July 2nd (Palio di Provenzano) and August 16th (Palio dell’Assunta) ten of the city’s districts participate in the horse race to win the symbolic cloth; each district is assigned one of the ten, fit horses that are selected to compete. The assignments are made on June 29th and August 13th for the July and August Palio, respectively. This ritual is known as the Tratta and it marks the beginning of 4 days of festivities. To reach Siena, take the Firenze-Siena Superstrada , towards Siena and exit at Siena Nord.

Badia a Passignano:This medieval abbey that was founded by Saint John Gaulbert in 1049 is just 10 min from Villa Podere La Fornace and is definitely worth seeing, with its secret gardens and frescoes made by the Ghirlandaio, a local famous painter.

San Gimignano is Just at 20 minutes drive from Villa Podere La Fornace. In the province of Siena, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval towers and the Vernaccia wine. Vernaccia di San Gimignano is one of the finest white wines anywhere, and is only made in a small area of Tuscany between Siena, Pisa and Florence. It is known worldwide, and was the first Italian wine to obtain DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata – Certified Controlled Origin) designation in 1966. The famous Torture Museum is located within city medieval walls. Visit also the Torture Museum within medieval city walls.

Monteriggioni is a nice medioeval tpwn situated only 30 minutes driving from Villa Podere La Fornace  Even though it is small, its beauty and position attract 70,000 visitors each year, and the first illustrious “tourist” to stop there was Dante Alighieri. His famous line “Monteriggioni di torri si corona” – Monteriggioni is crowned with towers – is also the title of the annual event held there at the end of July.