The area surrounding Montespertoli is ideal for those who love hiking trails and mountain biking: the slopes are gentle, the scenery fantastic and the possible trails are different, depending on one’s physical form or expectations. In the next section, we will suggest some possible routes.
The Montespertoli wine route: on foot or by bicycle
t ‘a route that leads to the heart of the area and of wine tourism, via castles and wineries. For this trekking route (also valid for mountain bikes) there are at least three variants:
- Montespertoli – Ortimino – Mantignara: we head towards Empoli following the Via delle Orme towards Di Mantignara
- Montespertoli – Molino del Ponte – Baccaiano – Anselmo: towards Montelupo first and then il Molino del Ponte, passing the Virginio torrent, going through Baccaiano, Anselmo and Ginestra.
- Montespertoli – Aliano – Lucardo: at Certaldo we take the Lucardese way, passing through the hamlets of Aliano and Lucardo.
The Castiglioni route: history, architecture and landscape. How the territory has changed over time. The trail is short – about 2 km – and pretty easy: a pleasant walk in the countryside. If considering the time needed to read the information boards located along the route, as well as the time that you will want to set aside to admire the landscape, it is feasible to consider about 4 hours to complete the journey on foot, or an hour and a half if mountain biking.
The tour takes place between the hills of Val Di Pesa and is intended as a point of reference in leading visitors through the transformations that the area has undergone, because of the social and economic needs of the communities that have inhabited this area of Chianti. Through its estates, castles, churches and country houses – built between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance – without forgetting the cultivated fields, this area has suffered many mutations, even radical ones, giving it however a unique and fascinating look.
The route is thus conceived as a historical path that allows the visitor to understand the historical events by means of illustrative boards dotted along the way, in addition – of course – to the pleasure of walking amidst the most beautiful nature. In this way, the visitor will be engaged in the discovery of some significant clues that refer to three different periods:
the Roman villas and farms arisen from the first century B.C., via the churches of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, concluding with the period of sharecropping (‘700), deeply tied to farm life.
The route covers that part of the ridge bordered by Castiglioni and Montegufoni and is indicated by brown signposts.
In summary, the itinerary is as follows:
- Castle of Montegufoni (transformed into a noble residence in the fourteenth century by the Acciaioli family)
- Podere Paterno (classic Tuscan sharecropping farm of the late eighteenth century: Colonial house cottages, barnyard)
- Podere il Pino (early eighteenth century)
- il Palagio
- Podere Giuncheto (nineteenth century)
- Church of San Michele in Castiglioni
- Villa Frescobaldi di Castiglioni (the villa belonged to a noble Florentine family, owner of extensive properties. It dates back to the 700s)
- Chapel of Castiglioni – Montegufoni
> Hiking and mountain biking in Montespertoli: 3 possible routes.