Art, landscapes, taste, beauty, wellbeing.
Enjoy Valdinievole.
Discover uncontaminated places, artistic wonders, new flavours and authentic people: on your own, as a couple, with kids or with friends, Valdinievole is the ideal destination for those looking for nature, art, taste and relaxation, far from the chaos of the big cities.
Your holiday in the midst of nature lies in the heart of Tuscany, not far from Florence, Lucca and Pisa, surrounded by gently sloping hills, where you can devote yourself to long walks, trips and sport. Enjoy lively days, rich in activities, to test yourself with something new and different, challenging your own limits.
From museums dedicated to the 20th century, to small collections of sacred art and of rural tradition, right up to the masterpieces of Art Nouveau that make Montecatini Terme a unique destination: art is at home in Valdinievole.
For those looking for a mislaid personal equilibrium or quite simply, for a break in routine, this is the land of relaxation. Its beneficial and therapeutic waters are a cure-all for both mind and body: let yourself be spoilt by professional wellbeing experts in the spas, with made-to-measure treatments to be yourself, at your very best.
Set off with your partner for a romantic getaway, by car or motorbike, a map in your hand, to discover tiny villages that are scattered all over this area, and to find a holiday farm or a trattoria in order to enjoy a typical dinner.
Kids will also enjoy this area, which can be fun and exciting for them: they can immerse themselves in the adventures of Pinocchio, reliving the most enjoyable episodes of the story and walking through its characters, in one of the most lovely artistic gardens in Italy.
Devote yourself to yourself, to your passions, to your dearest ones.
Let this extraordinary area become your very own.
An area which will surprise you, in the heart of the most genuine part of Tuscany, marked by gentle hills which give off generous fruits, in the area that was once called ‘vallis nebulae’ – the fog-filled valley – and that today is an unpolluted world, a proud guardian of its traditions. Valdinievole is a terrain to be discovered.
Your journey can begin from Montecatini Terme, an art nouveau jewel famous for its precious, beneficial and therapeutic waters. A place where you can find wellbeing and peace surrounded by beauty: the natural one of the parks and luxuriant gardens and the other one created by master painters and sculptors who have celebrated the town, rendering it their chosen place for the Italian Art Nouveau style.
The Grotto Giusti‘s waters that flow out from the underground will give its visitors unimaginable pleasure: “the eighth wonder of the world” is a thousand-year old cavern adorned with stalactites and stalagmites.
A little jewel close to Monsummano Terme, an area of cliffs and crags, an ideal place for sports lovers, for rock climbing, for paragliding, for trekking. All over the Valdinievole area, there are so many paths and trails to walk along while contemplating the beauty of the surrounding nature, paths that were used in ancient times by pilgrims and wayfarers on their way in prayer.
Water makes the Marshland of Fucecchio, near Larciano, unique: it is the largest internal marshland in Italy and it is a paradise for birdwatchers and for enthusiastic naturalistic photographers; to be explored on foot, by bike, by mountain bike, by little boat or by SUP (stand up paddleboats).
Every hamlet in the Valdinievole area offers you breathtaking views and picturesque scenes, starting from Montecatini Alto, a pretty village that you can reach by cable car. At Montevettolini, climb to its highest point so that you can admire the valley below where, centuries ago, Leonardo da Vinci did exactly that. Or go for a walk through the lanes of Buggiano Castello, the hamlet of citrus fruits.
On the slopes of Montalbano, a land of oil and wine, in the district of Larciano – well known for its handling of marshy grasses – and the villages of Cecina and Larciano Castello are also well worth a visit.
Pescia, with its elegant historic town centre, is the ideal point of departure if you want to explore Valdinievole: this area is also called the “Svizzera Pesciatina“, with its ten “Castella’: tiny and picturesque hamlets built in pietra serena. Not to be missed is a visit to the Museum of Paper at Pietrabuona to discover the tradition and art of handmade paper.
Nearby stands Collodi, birthplace of the writer Carlo Lorenzini, which houses the Park of Pinocchio and the Villa Garzoni with its splendid 18th century garden, one of the most lovely in Europe.
Lamporecchio is the home of the “brigidino“, the aniseed flavoured wafer, which you can always find in village parties and country festivals. It is still today an extremely lively tradition. More recently, but just as delicious is the production of chocolate which makes Monsummano Terme one of the centers of the Tuscan Chocolate Valley.
Thermal baths and wellbeing
A relaxing weekend at Valdinievole? Montecatini and Monsummano are the two towns that integrate their wellness offers, proposing the treatment of drinking thermal water, massages and medical and aesthetic therapies, relaxing bathing in the thermal swimming pools with hydro massage, perfect for a regenerating break or for a romantic holiday.
Hamlets and castles
Spring and autumn are the best periods for visiting our medieval hamlets, which immediately give you a feeling of peace and harmony. Often the place names finish in “castello” – castle – a fairy-tale touch that, in truth, recounts an intense history where every inhabited upland was at the centre of bitter battles and fights for the conquest of the area by the “great powers” of the times: Pisa, Lucca Florence.
Art and culture
The Valdinievole area is a huge, open-air museum that you can discover in a weekend or on a longer holiday.
Montecatini Terme is an Art Nouveau museum, articles of this artistic style are scattered about the town: architecture, decorations, paintings, details, while walking through the historic thermal buildings and the extensive parks and gardens, you can live and feel the atmosphere of the Belle Époque.
Every town in the Valdinievole area is well worth a visit: the museum network ranges from 20th century art to the rural culture, from archaeology to the craftsman’s production of handmade paper, from the history of the area to sacred art.
But on coming out of the museums, all you have to do is look around to see that art is scattered all over the place: on the facades of the medieval palazzi as well as on those of the last century, in its grand churches and in its little parish churches, in its squares, villas and gardens, in the finishings of an important hotel… and even on the benches.
A land to be tasted
The thermal vocation of Valdinievole – which invites everyone who stays here to search for their own wellbeing – can take you into two directions: the strictly detox one or the one where the tasting of exquisite dishes is a “cure” for the palate and the soul. Excellent raw materials (oil, wine, beans), great Tuscan food, a particular propensity for desserts and sweets who are the true ‘ambassadors’ of the territory: the ‘bridging’ of Lamporecchio, the Wafers of Montecatini, the artisan chocolate of Monsummano Terme. Pure wellbeing to be recovered and to take home to guarantee yourself all the benefits you can derive from your stay.
To live in nature
To savour the slow rhythm of walking in the paths across the marshes, to stop at the observation platforms to watch the birds, to listen carefully to the sounds, to smell the perfumes, to admire the colours. A weekend thought out to recover your relationship with nature, a total immersion in the spirit of “slow tourism”, with total respect for the environment and for yourself.
Holidays with children
A worldwide ‘celebrity’ was born in Valdinievole, with followers from 0 to 99 years old, a case unique of its kind. We are talking about Pinocchio, born almost 150 years ago from the pen of Carlo Lorenzini; at Collodi, the park is dedicated to him and is a compulsory destination for family holidays, together with a host of activities that the area offers to meet children’s’ needs.
