Exploring Tuscany from San Miniato
San Miniato is a wonderful base to explore Tuscany. It sits very conveniently right in the middle of so many important Tuscan cities — firstly, it’s between Florence and Pisa and easy to get to both as it is serviced by a regional train, both are approximately 35-40 minutes away. If you have a car, then it’s very easy and worth a visit to other Tuscan cities that are less than an hour away, such as the ceramic town of Montelupo Fiorentino (20 mins), Certaldo (30 mins), San Gimignano (45 mins), Lucca (50 mins), Pistoia (45 mins), Pescia (45 mins), Prato (45 mins), Vinci (25 mins) and Montecatini Terme (35 mins), even Volterra (55 mins).
A very pretty town only 40 minutes away that you’ve likely never heard of is Buggiano Castello and in fact all the little towns in this area are just as pretty but Buggiano has a particular pull for me as a citrus lover. Here’s what I mean.
Some things to do in San Miniato
San Miniato is a small town with quite a lot of churches. The one I would visit is the Duomo, built in 1622, which you can reach through various ways but the most scenic is via the frescoed Seminary. Next door to the Duomo is the Museum of the works of the Duomo where you can see the art works close up — it’s a very small, very quiet museum that I highly recommend. From the ancient ceramic plates on the facade of the Duomo to the dramatic baroque paintings (below), you will have these beauties practically to yourselves (see here for the opening hours, it changes according to the seasons).
You can also climb the Matilde tower which is behind the museum for an incredible view over the countryside. But for the best views, visit La Rocca — San Miniato’s tallest tower, a 12th century tower that was rebuilt after the Second World War. It’s open for a climb on the weekends but you can visit the tower for birds eye views over San Miniato’s countryside any time (sunset is particularly lovely). You can reach the tower by the ramp that you can see from Piazza Duomo — just keep going up!
Another lovely walk is the Vicolo Carbonaio, which follows the edge of the ancient city walls. You can reach it through a tunnel next to the Loggiato di San Domenico (the gate is in front of Maurizio pastry shop) and you can either walk left or right — it’s about a 10-15 minute walk — and keep following the city wall until you reach a set of stairs to bring you back into town. It’s like a short cut into the countryside with beautiful views like the one above.
Festivals and fairs in San Miniato
It’s nice to have a reason to visit and in San Miniato there are plenty of fun and festive things going on throughout the year, including plenty of sagre (food festivals). Here are a few things to mark on your calendars:
Flea Market: Every 1st Sunday of the month there is a fantastic flea market through the main streets and piazzas in the historical centre of San Miniato
Farmers Market: Every 3rd Sunday of the month is the Slow Food “Mercatale” farmers market of local producers in the Loggiato di San Domenico.
Festa degli Aquiloni: The kite festival is fun for all ages, it is usually held in April.
1000 Miglia: For lovers of vintage cars, an open road endurance race around Italy, it is usually held between May and June.
La Luna è Azzurra: An international theatre festival held in early July for the past 40 years with shows, puppets, mimes and more held throughout the streets in town until midnight.
Festival del Pensiero Popolare: A street festival of culture, food, people, theatre, music. Usually held around Ferragosto (15 August), with plenty of watermelons, in Piazza Bonaparte.
White Truffle Festival: Held over 3 weekends in November, here’s a post about it.
Exploring the coast by train
Train is a nice, slow way to travel without having to worry about a car, parking tickets or fines — and you’ll be surprised where you can go direct from the little San Miniato train station. There is a train that continues north up the coast to La Spezia in Liguria, the gateway to the Cinque Terre, so from San Miniato you can reach directly beach towns such as Viareggio, Pietrasanta and Forte dei Marmi all the way to La Spezia without having to change trains. You can likewise go south down the coast via regional train from San Miniato — you’ll pass by towns such as Livorno, Castiglioncello (one of my favourite beach resort towns, below), the wine town of Bolgheri and beach town of San Vincenzo to Campiglia Marittima, a beautiful old town by the coast. Read more about my guide to these coastal towns here and here. And this is just where you can go direct — with a stop in a bigger station such as Empoli (the next station over where, for example, you can hop on a train to Siena), Florence or Pisa, you can really go anywhere.
Exploring the countryside by bike or foot
Why not? The rolling hills and beautiful views in this area make it a very popular place for a bike ride. In San Miniato, you can hire bikes from Taddei in Piazza della Repubblica and explore the countryside on your own.
San Miniato is also right on the ancient pilgrim route, the Via Francigena (it starts in Canterbury and heads to Rome), and you can use this town as a starting, middle or ending point for a walking holiday! In Tuscany, it begins from the Apuane alps, through Pietrasanta and Lucca, then towards Fucecchio, where you cross the Arno river to San Miniato. From San Miniato, the walk heads towards the Elsa Valley (Valdelsa) to Siena and the beautiful Val D’Orcia. You can also just start with one walk - a 5 hour walk will take you to Gambassi Terme. The Official Via Francigena website has itineraries and maps, hiking events and more information.
Explore with a private guide
I can highly recommend two wonderful, warm, knowledgeable private guides — Molly McIllwrath and Paola Vojnovic; they are two of my oldest friends, long term Tuscan residents originally from the US, incredibly intelligent, passionate historians and licensed tour guides. While they mostly work in Florence, they can take you through many Tuscan cities (Molly is based in Pistoia and Paola in Viareggio).
Stefano, another of our oldest friends, is also a tour guide and his company, Out of the Box Florence, really do different Tuscan experiences such as Wine Trekking or visiting Florence on a boat or the Chianti region by bike.
Further afield, Zoe Shapiro has developed some wonderful trips for her company Stellavision Travel, which is based in Rome. Her thoughtful, feminist, size-inclusive trips are designed particularly for those who identify as female, creating a safe environment to travel and connect you with likeminded people while delivering an authentic experience. Some of the trips she is running this year include one that visits the Maremma, an off the beaten path area of southern Tuscany that I love.