Montevarchi

Montevarchi is a city in the province of Arezzo in Tuscany. This article also covers the neighbouring towns San Giovanni Valdarno and Terranuova Bracciolini.

Get in
Montevarchi has its own train station on the Florence-Rome line. Journey time from Florence about 1 hour and trains run almost every hour. It's 5 km from the Valdarno junction of the A1 Autostrada by car.

Get around
The town is sufficiently small to be explored on foot. Via Roma, the main street, is closed to traffic after 10:00 making walking more pleasant.

Montevarchi
There are a number of small museums in Montevarchi but the most interesting are:
 * Museo del Cassero, corner of Piazza Vittorio Veneto and Via Trieste, Thursdays to Sundays, 10:00 to 13:00 and 15:00 to 18:00 or 19.00 at weekends. Over 500 Italian sculptures from the 19th and 20th centuries, an epoch usually overlooked in Italian museums, featuring works by Monti, Bortolotti and Galeffi. The Cassero, or barracks, building was sensitively restored in 2010 to house this museum and is wheelchair friendly. Admission €3 (reduced €1).
 * Museo dell'Arte Sacra (Museum of sacred art), Via Isidoro del Lungo, 4, Saturdays and Sundays, 10:00 to 12:00 and 16:00 to 18:00. It's a tiny museum, little more than 2 rooms, but the star of the show is the Andrea della Robbia temple, constructed in 1505 in the adjoining church, then dismantled in 1709 and finally reconstructed in its present position in 1973. It alone is worth the admission price of €3 (reduced €1).

San Giovanni Valdarno

 * Convent of San Francesco a Montecarlo. It houses an Incoronation of the Virgin by Neri di Bicci (1472–1475)
 * Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie (built in 1484, but with a 19th-century Neoclassical façade). Its museum houses Beato Angelico's Annunciation.
 * Church of San Lorenzo (early 14th century)
 * Church of San Lorenzo (early 14th century)

Do

 * Centro Storico (the town's oval shaped medieval centre) is very atmospheric and well worth exploring. Tthe defensive walls and gates were demolished long ago. You can still glimpse parts of the town walls by the Dogana river and the paving of Piazza Vittorio Veneto has a series of lights following the line of the walls discovered during building works. However Montevarchi's central street pattern survives intact from the Middle Ages: two oval shaped roads, one inside the other, linked by Via Roma up the middle and lots of narrow alleys across. On Via Poggio Bracciolini is the Chiostro di Cennano (Cennano cloister) which frequently has free exhibitions and concerts in summer.

Buy
This ancient market town on the River Arno has been an important crossroads for trade in the region. Silk, wool, textiles and later ceramics have all been traded here. Montevarchi has still one of the busiest markets (Thursday mornings) in Tuscany, and is popular with tourists due to the Prada outlet store.

Eat

 * La Buca di Ipo, Via Giovanni Pascoli, 34, 055 982233, Thursday to Tuesday evenings only. Excellent value trattoria much frequented by the locals. Specialises in fish dishes but all tastes catered for.

Drink

 * Dolcenero Caffé, Via Roma 64 (on corner of main piazza), closed Mondays. Excellent choice for late breakfasts, light lunches or drinks at any time during the day. Good prices. Outdoor tables are in the shade of the town hall's monumental colonnade overlooking the piazza. This is the bar where former UK Prime Minister Cameron was famously not brought his cappuccino in 2011! Closes at 20:00. Free wifi.
 * Via Roma 7 (on Piazza Vittorio Veneto, diagonally opposite the Cassero Museum). Pricey bar with nibbles and music. Outdoor tables in the piazza in summer. Stays open late in the evenings. Free wifi.

Sleep
The more characterful accommodation is in the countryside outside Montevarchi:
 * Erboli Residence Villa Loc. Erboli, 166 Cavriglia. A villa with rental holiday apartments and a pool near Cavriglia in green countryside with rolling hills with a typical Tuscan atmosphere.
 * Erboli Residence Villa Loc. Erboli, 166 Cavriglia. A villa with rental holiday apartments and a pool near Cavriglia in green countryside with rolling hills with a typical Tuscan atmosphere.
 * Erboli Residence Villa Loc. Erboli, 166 Cavriglia. A villa with rental holiday apartments and a pool near Cavriglia in green countryside with rolling hills with a typical Tuscan atmosphere.
 * Erboli Residence Villa Loc. Erboli, 166 Cavriglia. A villa with rental holiday apartments and a pool near Cavriglia in green countryside with rolling hills with a typical Tuscan atmosphere.
 * Erboli Residence Villa Loc. Erboli, 166 Cavriglia. A villa with rental holiday apartments and a pool near Cavriglia in green countryside with rolling hills with a typical Tuscan atmosphere.

Go next
Arezzo to the east and Florence to the north-west would be obvious places to go next.