Colle Val d'Elsa

It is the "Bohemia of Italy", home of artistic craftsmanship and natural beauty

Perhaps not everyone knows that the village of  Colle di Val d'Elsa , in the heart of Tuscany, was also the place where Carlo Lorenzini (known in art as "Collodi") saw the Fonte di Pinocchio, of medieval origin. It was probably this source of inspiration that suggested the name for his famous wooden puppet. On the other hand, Colle di Val d'Elsa has been loved by other authors and writers. Here, for example, the novel is set Bube's Girl di Carlo Cassola and the film Il minestrone di Sergio Citti, which also features the Tuscan actor in the cast  Roberto Benign .

The city has two parts;  the historic center on the hill above and the newer part below.

Crafts: Colle crystal and the museum

There is a reason they call it "Italian Bohemia". The village of Colle di Val d'Elsa, in fact, has hosted the oldest artistic glassworks and glassworks in Tuscany for centuries. Here, it is no coincidence that you can closely observe master glassmakers at work: unique gestures and rituals that are part of the ancient glassmaking tradition. The alchemy of the crystal has been repeated for centuries in the molerie and in artistic glassworks of Colle di Val d'Elsa , with the same patience and passion, with the same obstinate attention to the purity of the raw material and the finished product.

Visit the Crystal museum in Colle Val d'Elsa.

Via del Castello: an alternative to the Francigena

Stickers and signs along the Francigena

In Colle di Val d'Elsa there is also an ancient urban section of the route described by Archbishop Sigeric of Canterbury. This road can be considered an alternative to the official route of the Via Francigena.