In Valdelsa, one of the most scenographic landscapes of Tuscany for its sweet hills, bordered of cypresses, castles and towers, Certaldo draws the characteristic sky line of its castled village of reddening bricks. Certaldo is situated at the borders between the province of Florence - of which it is the most southern town - and the province of Siena, practically at the same distance from the two cities (about 40 Kms); it looks at the mountains of Chianti at east and the high ground between San Gimignano and Volterra at West.

Certaldo Alto, the ancient village, is surrounded by the walls - largely well kept - on which you can admire the Gate of Alberti, the Gate to the Sun and the Gate to Rivellino. You can arrive there climbing up the most ancient and fascinating steep ascents, called "Costa Alberti" and "Costa Vecchia" or the most modern ascent "of the castle". The scenery, which presents itself to your eyes, is a rare example of town - planning characterized by a medieval style even if with Renaissance developments - which culminates in the impressive Pretorio Palace situated on the top of the hill.

Particulary interesting the Pretorio Palace, the church of SS. Jacopo e Filippo, which have got frescoes and pieces of pottery belonging to XV Century, and Giovanni Boccaccio's House, the wellknown author of Decameron.

In the Medieval town there are a lot of cultural and artistic demonstrations, among which "Mercantia", important international festival of the theatre on the road.

The most representative monument of Certaldo is the Pretorio Palace, built in the XII century and the residence of Earls Alberti, which was enlarged and modified later in order to accomodate the functions of Vicariate (as the Audience-room, prisons, archives, the chapel and lodgings). In the Palace and in the adjacent Church of SS. Tommaso e Prospero, today desecrated (the most ancient church of the early XIII century) you can admire the frescos and sinopites of the XV and XVI century.

Certaldo Alto, the country of Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) - one of the Fathers of Italian Language - preserves the house and the grave of the story-writer. We can see his grave in the church of SS. Jacopo e Filippo, while his house, a tower and a loggia rebuilt after the second world-war, is nowadays the seat of the National Centre of Studies about Boccaccio with a rich library. Among the initiatives dedicated to Boccaccio there is the important collection of drawings (over 500) of contemporary artists, periodically exhibited in the rooms of the Pretorio Palace.