1. MONTOPOLI VALDARNO: where is it?

2. MONTOPOLI VALDARNO Montopoli is a typical village in the Tuscan countryside with a characteristic coil shape

3. Castruccio arch This arch is what remains from the old castle of Montopoli. Castruccio Castracani was a Tuscan soldier who lived in the 14th century and fought a lot of battles against the city of Florence.

5. SAINT MATTHEW TOWER It was built in 1431 by Neri Capponi, sent to Montopoli by the Florentine Republic to fortify the western part of the castle. It is built in red bricks, it is high with several floors and from the top you can have a beautiful view of the surrounding landscape.

6. ALONG THE STREETS

7. The beautiful sorrounding landscape

9. MEDIEVAL FESTIVAL The most important festival of Montopoli, a medieval festivall, takes place every year on the second Sunday of September. People dress up with beautiful and colorful historical dresses. Along the streets there is a market, dances and a famous challenge with the arches between two teams.

10. San Romano is bigger than Montopoli; here there are the train station, a bowling centre and the church of Santa Chiara where you can visit a famous “Crib”. In the past San Romano was place for a battle between Florence and Pisa as portraited in a famous painting by Paolo Uccello MONTOPOLI AND ITS SURROUNDINGS It is divided into different boroughs : S.Romano, Capanne, Marti and Castel del Bosco.

11. In Castel del Bosco there is an old Castle on a hill and the church of San Brunone. Marti is a village on a hill and is surrounded by a wood. Its church is dedicated to Santa Maria Novella.