Good-bye Impruneta, on to Certaldo Alto and Hello Volterra

Sadly, it was time to pack and leave Il Sorbeto at Impruneta. We loved our time in the beautiful old farm complex, a mix of really enjoyable outings and lots of time just relaxing and living the Italian way.

After saying arrivederci to Mattia and his furred friends we went for breakfast in town. We had seven hours to travel about 70 kms!

 

We were now familiar with the roads so we didn't get lost or have any panic moments (me!) and we had decided to call in to Certaldo Alto, the high up historic section of Certaldo. How it has changed since we went there more than twenty years ago. Tourism certainly has had a big influence on these towns in that time. Not sure whether it is for the good or bad.

Amazingly we found a car park immediately opposite a sign saying Funicolare ... my legs cheered with joy! This was the civilized sort, an enclosed carriage that held about twenty people, not a two person bird cage dangling from a wire.

The view of Certaldo from the top of the funicular.

Certaldo Alto is a medieval town which has basically preserved its original form since the 1400s. It actually dates back to Etruscan times (VI - IV BC) as a settlement, and it suffered bomb damage during the war.

Certaldo's greatest son is Giovanni Boccaccio, writer, poet and Renaissance humanist. He was born and died here and is buried in a vault in the aisle of the church.

This photo is from a display of the church before it was bombed by the British in WWII.

The Palazzo Pretorio with the coats of arms of all the past administrators of local government and justice from 1415 to 1784.

The view from the hall of the Palazzo Pretorio down via Giovanni Boccaccio

Inside the hall at the front of the palazzo: remnants of coats of arms, local history and religious themes.

The statue of Boccaccio in the piazza below the old town.

Then it was on to Volterra, our base for the next week. You cannot drive freely through this town, only permit holders are allowed to enter. This means your car is in a distant car park. First we found where we can park for free (all other parks are €12 per day)

How about this for a daily work-out? This is the gate we must enter on foot, inside there is a pond with fish and the fountain, then the steps.

 Then there is quite a walk to our apartment. It is on the second floor, up two flights of stairs.

The windows with the double glazing and internal shutters are ours.

Then we had to find how to get to the gate where we could enter on a temporary permit to unload our luggage. This is it ... Porta Selci. 

This is the view from near the gate. We are no longer in the Chianti region, in fact no longer in grape and olives territory but in large scale cropping.

After a pizza at a place called (in English) The Manger, we walked around finding our bearings. The crowds were amazing, all eateries full and the shops open after 10 pm. Alabasta is a major industry here and beautiful works are for sale.

A big day, in the end. Volterra has won us already - it is full of life and history, there is music in the piazza several nights a week and there is a festival on Sunday.