Museum tours of the VALDARNO DI SOTTO
The Valdarno Inferiore area covers a large area partly flat and partly hilly, marked by the presence of the Arno river, which flows from the city of Florence to Pisa and then flows into the Tyrrhenian Sea. Along its route, the river meets villages that have distinguished themselves in history for their important position, being displaced from Pisa, Florence and Lucca. These small medieval towns still retain their original shape and important traces of their glorious past. Many information can be found by visiting the museums of the Valdarno Museums network, which this website wants to highlight. The municipalities that have joined the Museum System of the Valdarno di Sotto are: Castelfranco di Sotto, Fucecchio, Montopoli Valdarno, S. Miniato and S. Maria a Monte.
Maps
Use the interactive map to locate the municipalities that are part of the museum system.
Castelfranco di Sotto
Castelfranco di Sotto is located on the north bank of the Arno. The Municipality of Castelfranco di Sotto is characterized in large part by hilly and wooded landscape, also valuable, among which the Cerbaie.
Montopoli in Val d’Arno
Montopoli in Val d’Arno rises mainly in the hills, with its 11 148 inhabitants is a perfectly preserved village in the province of Pisa. He was qualified by Giovanni Boccaccio “Castello Insigne” for its mighty fortifications.
Santa Maria a Monte
Famous in the past as a strategic military outpost, Santa Maria a Monte (Castrum Sanctae Mariae ad Montem in Latin) has always been much disputed among the various Tuscan cities, such as Florence and Lucca, until it became a Pisan territory. There are “Casa Carducci”, where Giosuè Carducci lived his youth and where his father Michele, a treating doctor of the town, lived.
San Miniato
The historical center of the city is located in a strategic position on a hill halfway between Florence and Pisa, where the city has been the scene of many clashes between the two present-day capitals, until the final Florentine conquest. Home of diocese, San Miniato is famous for its white truffles, and wine and olive oil products.
Fucecchio
The Municipality of Fucecchio is located on the right bank of the river Arno, on the border between the provinces of Florence, Pisa, Lucca and Pistoia and near the wetland of the Padule di Fucecchio. The town extends partly on a hill, which since antiquity has taken the name of “Poggio Salamartano”, and for the most part in the flat area that is located on its slopes.