Visit the Archeodromo, a 9th century village in Poggibonsi

Poggibonsi has a reputation as the ugly cousin of nearby San Gimignano, and while this is in some measure justified, this overlooked town has some gems hidden within that are well worth a visit. An enormous and well-preserved Medici fortress, 12th century water fount, a tiny Templar chapel, and a reconstructed 9th century village are a delight to explore and come with a slight sense of surprise given the setting.

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An unexpected surprise in the old fortress of Poggibonsi

Strategic Poggibonsi bombed during World War II

Poggibonsi had the misfortune of being a crucial railway interchange, making it the target of both the German and Allied armies during the fight to liberate Italy. The devastation of these bombings then made Poggibonsi the ideal place for large scale reconstruction and expansion that was not possible in the old towns that had been left more intact. What little was left of the medieval heart of the town was soon surrounded by rather ugly 50s and 60s buildings, hiding the old town like a secret garden within, bypassed and overlooked by many travellers intent on reaching Siena and San Gimignano. It's worth taking the time to get past this first 'ugly duckling' appearance to explore the delights within.

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The centre of Poggibonsi is still a charming tuscan town

History of Poggibonsi

The site of the town has been inhabited for millennia due to its excellent position in the Elsa valley. An easily defendable hill with steep sides and springs for water is a good site for controlling access up and down the Elsa valley that runs south towards Siena and north towards Certaldo and then Empoli. The town's original name derived from the Etruscan name for Mars and Venus, Mars-Turan which later became Marturi, and is the root of Borgo Marturi which was Poggibonsi's original name.

Fortunes linked to the Francigena

The town's fortunes grew with the rise of the Via Francigena during the tenth and twelfth centuries. This route, taken by pilgrims and merchants to reach Rome, became ever more trafficked and important over the turn of the millennium. The main town would have been on top of the hill now occupied by a sixteenth-century fortress built by the Florentines, and it's here, within the large area of fields enclosed by the fortress, that traces of a Frankish village were recently found.

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One of the reconstructed huts in the Archeodromo

Archeodromo, a reconstruction of a ninth century settlement.

During recent archeological excavations traces were found of quite a complex settlement of huts from the Carolingian period - the relatively peaceful period of Charlemagne's Holy Roman Empire. The village has a long hut, several important houses and plenty of animal huts. There is an ongoing project to reconstruct what might the original buildings might have looked like, and even re-enact the local life. On certain dates you can visit the reconstructed village and see local volunteers dressed as villeins, herding goats, chickens and carrying out everyday tasks that one might find in a 9th century village.

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Huts in the Medici Fort

Fonte delle Fate

At the base of the slopes of the tall hill that supports the Medici fort and the Carolingian village, there is a thirteenth-century water spring, beautifully built of tightly joined limestone blocks. This was once one of around 9 springs that surround the city, just as Siena's still surround her (See more about Siena's water system and underground tunnels here: Bottini di Siena). All were buried under the spoils from the construction of the enormous Medici fortress on the site of Borgo Marturi, on the hill-top. The "Fonte delle Fate" was rediscovered in the nineteenth century, when a farmer was moving some earth to prepare a vineyard. It has been carefully restored and now houses a permanent art-installation by Mimmo Paladino, with eery figures lying in the spring's water pool.

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The fonte delle fate is at the foot of the hill of the fortress

Fortezza Medicea

This enormous fortress will be the first thing you notice when approaching the site of the old town of Poggibonsi. It was commissioned by Lorenzo il Magnifico , designed by Giuliano da Sangallo and built between 1488 and 1511. It's remarkable on many fronts:

  • It's enormous even by the standards of the time, designed to be able to protect and encompass an entire new town. The town was to be called Poggiobonizio but the project as envisioned by Lorenzo never came to fruition, partly due to Lorenzo's death in 1492 but largely also just because of the shift in the relationship between Florence and Siena.
  • It's one of the earliest of the new fortification designs, with pentagonal bastions protruding from the fort at the corners, giving more lines of fire for the cannons from the fort, a recent addition to medieval warfare. Typical earlier forts were simple walled enclosures, set on a hill, and relied on the advantage of the higher position for defence. The use of cannons made such forts easily breached; a cannonball fired into a straight wall head-on could easily breach it and allow the enemy to over-run the castle. The protruding bastions eliminate the 'dead spots' for the defensive cannons, as well as presenting angled walls to the enemy, which might more easily deflect cannonballs.
  • Lastly, because of the fairly swift redundancy of the Fortress of Poggiobonizio, it fell into disrepair, was covered in vegetation and left untouched for centuries; today it is a remarkably well preserved example of the fifteenth-century fort architecture.
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The strong battered walls of the Medici Fortress in Poggibonsi

Visiting the Forte, the fonte and the Archeodromo

They are all open-air museums so you can visit most of the areas at any time and without a ticket. I normally park here:

Parking for Archeodromo and Fortezza di Poggio Imperiale

and then walk around the marked paths. You can see a number of fortified gateways to the fort and, once within, you'll see traces of ancient buildings as outcrops in the fields. The Archeodromo is here:

Pin for the Archeodromo

The main inner fortress does have opening times, and it's always pleasant if you can time your visit with the opening times as they also sell ice-creams.

Pin for the Fortezza within the walls

You can also visit the Fonte delle Fate along a path from the main fortress, but if you're tired of walking a short drive will take you to a closer car park and save your legs.

Pin for Fonte delle Fate

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Leaving via one of the gates of the old Fortress

Where to stay near Poggibonsi

Casa Andrea for 4 with a hot-tub

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Casa Andrea is a cottage for 4 near San Gimignano

Dimora for 12 with a private pool

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Dimora is a villa for 12 with a private pool in the Chianti hills