Things to do
• Castellare di Tonda: Only one kilometer away, this resort and spa features swimming pools, a equestrian center, a wellness center, and a children’s center. Relax and rejuvenate in the sauna, Turkish bath, scented showers, ice cave, heated Jacuzzi with a panoramic view, and more. Book services like treatments and massages. They suggest making reservations 72 hours in advance.
At the equestrian center, you can take group riding lessons, or private reining lessons, in both English and Western styles, with a selection of highly-schooled purebred Quarterhorses trained in competitive reining. Guides and instructors are expertly qualified with E.N.G.E.A (Italian Equine Tourism Federation) certifications and speak English, Italian and German fluently. Trail riding will lead you to medieval castles, vineyards, thick forests, and a private game reserve. Children can partake in a Children’s Riding Camp.
• Il Gusto del Castellare: Located within the Castellare di Tonda one kilometer away, this newly renovated restaurant features traditional Tuscan dishes cooked with local ingredients. Il Gusto is nestled in the lemon house and overlooks a garden, small country church, and the green hills of Chianti. The cuisine is organic, biodynamic, and comes exclusively from the Montaione region. Gluten-free and vegetarian options are available upon request. This space is also available for events, like weddings, birthdays, work dinners, and more.
• Castelalfi Golf Club: Just 14 kilometers from Villa Paggio lies the largest golf course in Tuscany, with over 9,400 meters of fairways, bordered by groves and olive trees. There are two courses: the mountain course, a Champtionship Course, with steep slopes and panoramic views overlooking the Castle of Castelfalfi, and a Lake Course, a shorter and more open course over the rolling Tuscan hills. Eco-responsibility is also important to this golf club, which uses recovered rainwater for irrigation and other eco-friendly maintanence techniques.
• Castelfalfi: Inhabited since before the Etruscan period, the medieval village of Castelfalfi sits within stone walls and is best known for its castle and beautiful Romanesque Church of San Floriano. Outside the stone walls lie 2,700 acres of woodland and vineyards and charming villas. In the early 1900s, the village, which once counted the Medici family among its owners, moved from an agricultural economy to a “tabaccaia,” which processed tobacco plants from the United States.
• Castelfalfi Adventure Park: Part of the new Castelfalfi complex, this adventure park boasts suspended paths through the forest, Tibetan bridges, tunnels, a Tree top village, jumping mat and more. There are 10 courses, each with increasing difficulty, and are appropriate for adults and children alike.
• Vinci: While Leonardo da Vinci’s birthplace lies technically just outside of town in the frazione of Anchiano, Vinci is dedicated to the memory of it’s favorite son. Museo Leonardiano displays full scale models of some of Leonardo’s inventions and projections well beyond the times recreated from his notebooks, including bicycles, cars, underwater suits, flying machines, and more. Explore Leonardo Library, containing manuscripts and drawings, the statue in Piazza della Liberta,’ inspired by Leonardo’s sketches of horses, and The Church of San Croce, where Leonardo was likely baptized.
• Dianella: This stunning winery, located about half an hour away, is the family winery associated with Villa Paggio, and guests will be welcomed with a complimentary wine tasting. The Dianella Village, once home to poet Rentao Fucini, dates back to the 16th century. Dianella’s selection of wines are made with respect for tradition and terroir, on an estate of 90 hectares, comprised on 26 vineyards The predominant variety is Sangiovese, but other native varieties include Colorino, Malvasia, Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc, Vermentino and Orpicchio. Besides Chianti, the winery offers a selection of organic wines of autochthonous variety.
• Via Francigena: An UNESCO World Heritage site, the Via Francigena, also know as the Camino to Rome is an ancient Camino walking trail that takes pilgrims on an epic journey from Canterbury in England across the channel to France and through Switzerland, before crossing Italy on their way to Rome. Villa Paggio is located directed on the Via Francigena, in the scenic section between Fucecchio and Siena.
• Gambassi Terme: Located along the Via Francigena, Gambassi Terme is known for the thermal baths that have been found in the area since ancient times. Spa resorts can be found along Benestare Park. Within the are, the Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Chianni, an impressive example of Romanesque architecture, is well worth the visit, as is the permanent Glass Exhibition, which displays around 3000 archeological artifacts from the 13th and 14th centuries. Special events include Palio delle Contrade, a competition featuring various skill tests, that ends with a traditional tubing race, during a week of shows, parades, concerts and stalls offering typical local products, and the Gambassina during a week in June, which features activities, artisanal tastings, art exhibit and excursions on foot or horseback, giving you the chance to put yourself in the shoes of the travelers and pilgrims from the Middle Ages.
• Montaione: Named “the Most Beautiful Tuscan Village You’ve Never Heard Of” by Architectural Digest, Montaione is a quaint town set high on a hill and accessible only by mountain roads winding artfully through thick forests. Architectural highlights include the 12th-century San Regolo Church, the ancient Roman cistern, and the Palazzo Pretorio, which also hosts the civic museum. Tasting tours are available to sample local produce, like wine, olives, saffron, cheese and white truffles. Dine at the charming, Casa Masi, a rustic Tuscan trattoria built in a centuries-old former tobacco warehouse with stone walls and wooden beams, or explore the area, and surrounding fields of sunflowers, with a hike or a horseback ride. Visit the Summer festival from June to September, and the Produce Market, from October to November.
• Castelvecchio Nature Reserve: Extending around about 700 hectares between Gambassi Terme, San Gimignano and Volterra, the Castelvecchio Nature Reserve is a large woodland territory within in a protected area. Perfect for hikers, the reserve includes the ruins of an important civilian and military medieval settlement, Castrum Vetus, and the Castelvecchio Castle, as well as vegetation both from the Mediterranean and mountain climates.
• San Vivaldo Monastery: Just outside Montaione lies the San Vivaldo Monastery, also known as the “Jerusalem of Tuscany,” a complex consisting of a Roman Catholic convent, church, and sanctuary. Created by Franciscan Friar Tommaso da Firenze between 1500 and 1515, the monastery was designed to mimic the sites of the Holy Land, so that people could make a pilgrimage without needing to go to Jerusalem, which was then under Turkish rule. The design included eighteen distinct chapels with vivid polychrome statuary groupings, like the Passion of Jesus, corresponding to events of the New Testament. The convent still houses the franciscan order, and classical music concerts are open to the public in the cloisters during the summer.
• San Gimignano: A stunning UNESCO world heritage site, San Gimignano is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. While only 15 of the original 72 towers are left standing, you can climb those that remain for impressive views of the Tuscan landscape. The town also is known for the white wine, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, grown in the area, and delicous gelato in inventive flavors.
• Volterra: Volterra, a walled mountaintop town southwest of Florence, is best known for its Etruscan origins, ruins, and alabaster. Parts of the original 7,300 meter fortress walls, built during the 4th and 5th centuries BC, remain, including two large, well-preserved gates: Porta dell'Arco and Porta Diana. Other notabe ruins include the Acropolis, and the Roman Theater. Stroll the streets in search of handicraft workshops, where you’ll find handmade alabaster objects, for which Volterra is famous worldwide.
• Certaldo: Located around 20 kilometers west of the Chianti hills, Certaldo is a 2-story town with a perfectly preserved medieval center. The most interesting bits are in Certaldo Alto, which features Medieval architecture and incredible views from the top of Casa Boccaccio tower. Historically, this town was important due to its proximity to the Via Francigena and attracted people like the Medici. Today, sites like Palazzo Pretorio with houses contemporary art exhibits behind its magnificent facade, the former Churuch of San Tommaso with its fresco by Benosso Gozzoli, the Church of SS. Jacopo and Filippo, burial site of Boccaccio and home to a fresco by Memmo di Filippuccio, the Medieval paintings of the Museum of Sacred Art, and the Museum Casa Boccaccio are all worth a visit.
• San Miniato: Perched atop three small hills, San Miniato has several noteworthy historic monuments. Start your tour by the remains of a 13th-century castle built for Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in 1236 and admire the breathtaking views. From there, visit the 12th-century duomo and its neighboring museum, which contains several notable Renaissance paintings from the middle of the 15th century, including a painting of the Crucifixion by Filippo Lippi and a terracotta bust of Christ by Verrocchio. Other highlghts include the 14th-century Church of San Domenico with its frescoes and trompe l'oeil decoration, the Piazza della Repubblica, the Palazzo dei Vicari, and the 14th-century Town Hall.
• The Chianti Region: Once a battlefield for fights between Siena and Flornence, Chianti is now one of the most beautiful regions in all of Italy, with verdant, rolling hills covered in luscious vineyards and olive groves; charming stone villages, winding roads, and flowing rivers. Villages are typically characterized by Romanesque churches and fortified medieval castles. Chianti is perhaps best known for its namesake red wine, which received its designation all the way back in 1932.
• Siena: The Sienese have no doubt, their town is the most beautiful in all of Tuscany, if not all of Italy. Siena has remained a Gothic city. Renaissance, one of the major influences in Florence, hardly affected the urban development of Siena. The city unfolds around the main shell-shaped square called “Il Campo.” Twice a year the famous horse race known as the “Palio” takes place here. The narrow streets are lined with old shops and small cafes, while churches and museums are real treasures of the fourteenth century.
• Florence: The city lies on the Arno River and is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture. A centre of medieval European trade and finance, the city is often considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance; in fact, it has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages. It was long under the de facto rule of the Medici family. From 1865 to 1870 the city was also the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. The historic centre of Florence continues to attract millions of tourists each year and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982.
