Certaldo Historic Town

Certaldo is a small Tuscan town in Florence Province, approximately 35 kilometres southwest of Florence in the Elsa valley, divided into two distinct levels: the lower modern town of Certaldo Basso, with its railway station and commercial centre, and Certaldo Alto — the medieval walled hilltop village accessible by funicular or on foot. Certaldo Alto is the literary and historical heart of the settlement: it was the birthplace and burial place of Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375), author of the Decameron, one of the foundational works of Italian and European prose literature. The house where Boccaccio lived, Casa del Boccaccio on Via Boccaccio, has been converted into a museum and study centre containing editions of the Decameron, archival materials, and a research library. Boccaccio is also buried in the town, in the church of SS Jacopo e Filippo. The hilltop village is built almost entirely in warm orange-red brick — unlike the pale stone of many Sienese hill towns — giving it a markedly different visual character. The narrow main street, Via del Rivellino, runs from the upper funicular station through the village to the Pretorio Palace, whose courtyard facade is decorated with polychrome coats of arms in glazed terracotta accumulated by successive governors over centuries. The walls and towers at the northern end of the village are largely intact and offer views across the Elsa valley toward the Chianti hills. Certaldo receives far fewer visitors than San Gimignano, 12 kilometres to the south, and retains a genuine small-town atmosphere. In July the Mercantia festival transforms the village with outdoor theatre, circus, and street performance acts from across Europe for five nights.