The medieval village of Certaldo and its countryside

The loop-shaped itinerary crossing the hills of the the Valdelsa around Empoli among small villages, castles and cultivated fields. From the town center of Montelupo we head towards Sammontana, where we can visit the spendid Roman church and the adjacent Sammontana Farm. We move forward as far as Pozzale, where we first ride along Via di Oricello and then Via di Paterno as far as the farm of the same name.

We move ahead until we take Provincial Road 4, which we ride along only for a very short stretch. In Ortimino we leave it and ride down towards the “Pian Grande”. With a small detour and a short climb, we can visit the Oliveto Castle.

After a left-hand turn, we take the dirt road that has a quite demanding climb, which runs through the hills of Montespertoli and Certaldo. We ride through Tresanti and move forward as far as the Medieval center of Certaldo.

After crossing the whole town center, we take Provincial Road 50 for a short stretch, with very little traffic. We take a left-hand turn onto Via di Tavolese as far as the central square in Marcialla, a hamlet of Certaldo.

We continue as far as another hamlet of Certaldo, Fiano, and then we make a right-hand turn towards the Virginio valley, a tributary of the Pesa. From here, the return trip to Montelupo begins, traveling along the Val di Pesa with a detour and a climb of average difficulty to the castle of Poppiano of the Counts Guicciardini.

We ride downward again toward the Val di Pesa and, in Anselmo, we make a left-hand turn toward the Poggio Capponi Farm and the church of Saints Michele and Donato di Pulica. We continue riding downward toward the Val di Pesa, which we cross along the bike Path as far as the town center of Montelupo Fiorentino.