Tuscany · Firenze
Montaione
A medieval glassmaking and truffle borgo above the Valdelsa, with a Franciscan replica of Jerusalem in the woods at San Vivaldo.
Known for
SAN VIVALDO
Franciscan Sacro Monte built between 1500 and 1515 as a topographical replica of the holy sites of Jerusalem, seventeen chapels in oak woods.
WHITE TRUFFLES
Tartufo bianco zone in the San Miniato hills, celebrated each October at the Mostra del Tartufo Bianco of Montaione.
GLASSMAKING
Local craft from the early fourteenth century, formalized by an eighteenth-century Grand-Ducal decree requiring masters to teach apprentices in the comune.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Why come
Montaione sits on a ridge above the Valdelsa, in the wooded hills west of Florence on the road toward Volterra. Etruscan and Roman finds at Poggio all'Aglione, Bellafonte and Iano confirm continuous occupation. The medieval castello was the seat of an autonomous comune from 1256 and passed to Florence in 1369.
From the early fourteenth century, glassmaking ran in the surrounding woods; an eighteenth-century decree by the Grand Duke required master glassmakers to teach the craft to their fellow citizens. The town joined Borghi più belli in 2007. Five kilometers from the centro storico, in the woods at San Vivaldo, a Franciscan convent founded in 1500 holds a Sacro Monte of small chapels arranged as a topographical replica of the holy sites of Jerusalem, built between 1500 and 1515. The territory is also one of the most prized white truffle zones in Italy and includes Castelfalfi, a Lombard-origin castle restored as a private resort with a golf course and vineyards.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Montaione’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
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What to see
Sacro Monte di San Vivaldo
Franciscan complex five kilometers west of the borgo, with seventeen surviving chapels built between 1500 and 1515 as a topographical replica of Jerusalem.
Castelfalfi
Lombard-origin castle and frazione ten kilometers south, restored as a private resort with vineyards and a Romanesque church of San Floriano.
Centro storico
Medieval grid on the ridge, with the Palazzo Pretorio, the Torre del Cassero and the Chiesa di San Regolo restored after 1118 foundations.
Museo Civico Archeologico
Archaeological museum in the centro storico, holding Etruscan, Roman and medieval finds from across the comune territory.
Parco Benestare
Wooded recreational park at the edge of the borgo, with hiking trails through holm oak and chestnut groves toward the San Vivaldo complex.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Montaione fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
We recommend
Where to eat and stay
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to — a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
La Rocca di CastelfalfiRistorante
La Rocca di Castelfalfi holds a Gambero Rosso listing.
CastelfalfiHotel
Two Michelin Keys for Castelfalfi, along with a La Liste score of 99 and a Condé Nast Traveler nod.
Living here
- Population 3,492
- In-betweeni
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Florence / Pisa, 1 h 15 min drive
- Regional capital Firenze, 1 h 7 min drive
Thermal baths in town: Sorgente il Palagio.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
The numbers
- Elevation: 341 m
- Population: 3,492
- Surface area: 104.76 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Featured on
Montaione appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Close by
More towns near Montaione
San Miniato
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The hilltop town between Pisa and Florence that produces a quarter of Tuscany's white truffles and once held the imperial seat of Otto I.
San Gimignano
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A walled hill town at 334 meters with 14 surviving medieval towers, UNESCO listed since 1990 and the home of Vernaccia.
Peccioli
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Borgo dei Borghi 2024 in the Valdera hills, a medieval village that funded a public contemporary-art program with revenue from its landfill plant.
Certaldo
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The brick-built upper town in the Valdelsa where Boccaccio spent his last years, twenty-five kilometers from Florence on the medieval road to Siena.
Volterra
Province: Pisa
The Etruscan acropolis of Velathri at 531 meters, the alabaster town that has been carving the same stone for three thousand years.
🎨 Borghi più belli d'Italia
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Anghiari
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Buonconvento
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Capalbio
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