Tuscany · Firenze
Montaione
A medieval glassmaking and truffle borgo above the Valdelsa, with a Franciscan replica of Jerusalem in the woods nearby.
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 7 min from Florence
- Population
- 3,492
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
- J10°
- F12°
- M14°
- A17°
- M22°
- J27°
- J31°
- A31°
- S26°
- O20°
- N14°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
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 across the territory, material now held in the town's archaeological museum. 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, and 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. The territory spreads well beyond the ridge itself.
Five kilometers west, a Franciscan convent founded in 1500 stands in the woods, its chapels laid out as a walkable replica of Jerusalem's holy sites. Ten kilometers south, Castelfalfi carries a separate, older Lombard origin, now a resort with its own vineyards and church. Between them, the centro storico keeps the civic core: the tower, the palace, the parish church rebuilt on twelfth-century foundations. The comune, in effect, holds three distinct centuries of settlement at once: an ancient scatter of finds, a fourteenth-century craft economy, and a devotional complex from the 1500s, spread across ridge, castle and wood rather than gathered in one place.
The Sunday letter
Montaione is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Montaione comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Montaione in our articles
The best hot-spring towns within 75 minutes of Pisa6 towns, Montaione among them.
The best hot-spring towns within 75 minutes of Siena6 towns, Montaione among them.
The best hill towns in the province of Firenze7 towns, Montaione among them.
The best hill towns worth staying overnight within 90 minutes of Firenze7 towns, Montaione among them.
How to get there
From Florence / Pisa (PSA), about 1h 15m by car.
Bologna (BLQ) is about 2 hours away.
By car from the centre of Florence 1 hour, Pisa 1h 8m or Siena 1h 14m.
Coming by train into Firenze Santa Maria Novella? Montaione is about 1 hour away by road.
What to see
Sacro Monte di San Vivaldo
Complex five kilometers west of the borgo. Seventeen chapels stand among oak woods, each holding a scene built as part of the topographical replica, still reached on foot along the paths between them.
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.
Common questions
- What is Montaione known for?
- Montaione is a medieval glassmaking and truffle borgo at 341 meters above the Valdelsa, with a Franciscan replica of Jerusalem in the woods nearby.
- Where is Montaione?
- Montaione is a comune in the province of Firenze, in Tuscany.
- What is the nearest airport to Montaione?
- Florence / Pisa (PSA), about 1h 15m by car.
- How long is the drive from Florence to Montaione?
- About 1 hour by car.
- When is the best time to visit Montaione?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Montaione?
- Licciana Nardi, Fosdinovo and San Gimignano.
- How many people live in Montaione?
- 3,492 at the 2023 count.
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 and 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:
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