Not everyone coming here thinks of
visiting Colle di Val d'Elsa in Tuscany. Part of the reason is that if you are driving through the area, you will probably see only the more modern, lower part of the town and be tempted to give it a miss. However, Colle di Val d'Elsa has a very attractive old town and is in fact an ideal base for a vacation in this part of Tuscany, since there are many sights of interest within easy reach, among them being
Sienna (20 km),
Florence (48 km) and the whole of the
Chianti Classico wine zone as well as
Monteriggioni and
Castellina in Chianti which are less than half an hour away by car.
Certaldo and
Volterra are not much further.
What to see in Colle Val d'Elsa
The upper part of Colle di Val d'Elsa is the beautiful and very
interesting old town and this is definitely worth a visit. It retains
its massive walls and main gate, the Porta Nuova, and the attractive streets lined with
palazzi that lead to Borgo di Santa Caterina through the Palazzo Campana and so to the Castello di Piticciano, the oldest part of Colle do Val d'Elsa.
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| Palazzo Campana in Colle di Val d'Elsa |
Crystal glass manufacture in Colle di Val d'Elsa
The modern lower part of town replaced the area of Colle di Val d'Elsa that was heavily bombed by the Allies during World War II and is now
the location of a thriving crystal glass light industry - roughly 15% of the world's crystal glass comes from Colle di Val d'Elsa, and a considerable amount of it is hand-made.
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| An example of crystal glass from Colle di Val d'Elsa |
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| Crystal glass blowing in Colle di Val d'Elsa |
More about what to see and do in Colle di Val d'Elsa.
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Don't forget to visit Elena Spolaor's
Travel Guide!
Up-to-date news on what to see and where to stay in Chianti and all of Tuscany & Umbria.
Chianti Travel Guide
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Author: Anna Maria Baldini
