San Miniato

Last Saturday was a dull overcast day. After doing some chores in the morning Dom and I went off on an excursion. For some time I had wanted to visit San Miniato, another classic Tuscan hill town. It's claim to fame is that it has an annual truffle festival in November. Each fall I plan to go but for various reasons we have never managed it.

So, off we went. San Miniato is located not far from Empoli southwest of Florence. We took a circuitous route through the countryside to ge there. First we went to Pescia and then we angled southeast to Montecatini Terme. From there we headed south towards Fucecchio and then east to San Miniato. After Pescia we were mostly on roads we had never before traveled. We always enjoy exploring new territory, in my opinion the narrower the road the better. Since I am usually the navigator my propensity for picking obscure, but scenic, roads is not always to my driver's taste.

As is the case with many old hill towns, there is now a "new" town at the bottom of the hill. We zipped past the usual collection of modern shops and supermarkets and then meandered up to the old historic center. The road winds its way through the old buildings and then starts to head down the hill again. We found a parking spot on the edge of town right past a local tourist office.

After popping into the office for a map we strolled up the hill to see the two large churches and la rocca (the fort).

Although the entire town was charming, the above piazza was the most interesting part of it.

The walls of the old seminary were heavily decorated with faux architectural elements.

We continued up past the churches to the old castle. All along the route are interesting signs detailing the history of the area, in particular the series of forts that protected the Via Francigena (a major trade route from France) in the Middle Ages. The top is now a park with only the single tower left from the old fortifications. The top picture on this post was also taken from the top of the hill. In it you can see the bell tower for the older church and the rotunda from the newer, Baroque-style church.

After walking down from the fort we strolled through town and I had a cup of gelato. While I ate it we sat on a wall and admired the countryside.

On our way home I drove and we tried to find more new roads to explore.