Its towers peek out from among the rooftops and compete with the bell towers.

From a distance, Certaldo is an elegant hat gracing a low hill. It is the warm, reddish colour of the earth of Siena, which it borders on; it holds the charm of a Medieval village, along with the authentic allure of a community that does not only live on tourism.

It is famous for its sweet onion and its most celebrated storyteller, Boccaccio, the author of the Decameron, who decided to spend the last season of his life here. Certaldo has kept its Medieval layout within its walls, but it is different from other centres of Tuscany, as it does not revolve around any central square. It develops instead uphill along one road, Via Boccaccio, toward a spectacular convergence point: Palazzo Pretorio.

This is a building from the 12th Century in small bricks, whose façade still conserves several crests in marble and stone that represent the families of the vicars that governed Certaldo, along with glazed ceramics.

Lungo Via Boccaccio si apre il Museo di Arte Sacra, ospitato in un convento agostiniano del Quattrocento. Inside, its unknown treasures include a wooden crucifix from the 13th Century, a rare example of Christ triumphant on the cross. A little further on lies the Museum House of Giovanni Boccaccio, where you can visit a large library dedicated to this writer from the 1300s, with some illustrated editions of the Decameron.

You can reach Certaldo on foot,

climbing the steep Costa Alberti and Costa Vecchia; in a funicular, from Piazza Boccaccio in the lower part of Certaldo; or by car, taking Via delle Mura, which is doubtless one of the most panoramic arrivals.

In the summer, we recommend that you visit it around sunset, to fully enjoy the life of the town, when you will meet the elderly sitting in the shade of their homes, chatting like in the old days, or children flying on their bicycles along Via Boccaccio, and wait for the moment of dinner. In July, you can’t miss Mercantia, a street art festival that transforms the village into pure magic. October brings the season of Boccaccesca, a wine and food fair that fills the buildings and streets of Certaldo Alto.

Palazzo Pretorio and Casa Boccaccio are open from 9.30 to 13.30 and from 14.30 to 16.30 – the winter schedule is valid every day, except for Tuesday, from November 1st to March 31st – and from 9.30 to 13.30 and from 14.30 to 19.00 every day from April 1st to October 31st.