Poggibonsi: an honest guide to the city

Poggibonsi has an undeserved reputation. Most tourists pass through it - by car, train or bus - without stopping, heading for San Gimignano 12 kilometres away, Siena 25 kilometres away, Chianti just around the corner. It is a transit city in the tourist narrative of Tuscany.

This guide tries to tell the story of Poggibonsi honestly: it is not Siena, it does not have the art density of San Gimignano, but it has something of its own - and those who take the time to look find a city with 3,000 years of history behind it.

Lorenzo the Magnificent chose Poggibonsi to build his ideal Renaissance city. The project was abandoned in 1492 at his death. What remains is an imposing fortress, an archaeological site and the question of what might have been.

Poggibonsi: the city everyone passes through and few visit

The very name betrays the history: Poggio Bonizio - the hillock of Bonizio - was a medieval fortress that controlled the Elsa valley and the Via Francigena. In 1270 it was razed to the ground by Florentine troops, and the city rebuilt on the plain took the name of Poggibonsi.

The position has been strategic for millennia: at the confluence of the Elsa with the Staggia, on the Via Cassia and the Via Francigena, equidistant between Siena and Florence. Whoever controlled Poggibonsi controlled commerce between the two cities.

This history as a crossroads is still felt in the character of the city: practical, hardworking, without the museum-like air of many Tuscan villages. It is a real city.

The Medicean Fortress: Lorenzo the Magnificent’s unfinished project

The most important monument of Poggibonsi is also the most enigmatic: the Medicean Fortress on the Poggio Imperiale, the hill that dominates the city from the north.

The story: Lorenzo the Magnificent, in 1479, decided to build a new ideal Renaissance city on the hill. He entrusted the project to Giuliano da Sangallo, one of the most important architects of the time. It was called “Poggio Imperiale” and was to be a model city - designed from scratch with Renaissance principles of order and beauty.

Work began with great momentum: the military fortress was built, the walls, the foundations of many buildings. Then Lorenzo died in 1492, the Medici were expelled from Florence, and the construction site stopped. The ideal city was never completed.

What remains is an imposing fortress, partially restored, with an active archaeological site. You can visit it - and the experience is interesting precisely because of this suspended quality: you find yourself inside a project abandoned halfway through, where you can see the foundations of buildings that were never constructed.

The Cassero di Poggio Imperiale

The Cassero is the most restored and visitable part of the Medicean Fortress. It is a 15th-century military structure with brick walls, corner towers and an internal courtyard.

Inside, an archaeological park has been set up with thematic routes telling the history of the fortress and the Poggio Imperiale project. Guided visits (available at weekends and by appointment) offer a deeper look at the figure of Lorenzo the Magnificent and the work of Giuliano da Sangallo.

The Cassero is also the best viewpoint in Poggibonsi: from the top of the walls you can see the entire Val d’Elsa, and on a clear day you can make out the silhouette of San Gimignano’s towers.

The historic centre: what merits a walk

The historic centre of Poggibonsi is not medieval like those of San Gimignano or Siena - too much destructive history in between - but it has some interesting corners.

The Collegiata di San Lorenzo is the main church, with some significant artworks. The Palazzo Pretorio, with its family crests on the walls, tells the administrative history of the city. The Convento di San Lucchese, just outside the centre, is a 13th-century religious complex with notable Gothic frescoes.

But the centre of Poggibonsi is worth visiting above all for its normality: it is a real Tuscan town, with its Tuesday morning market, bars serving the pasta of the day, grocery shops with local produce. Far from the tourist circuits, it has maintained an authentic daily life.

Is Poggibonsi worth visiting?

Yes, if you want a real Tuscan town rather than an open-air museum. It does not have the concentration of art of Siena or the skyline of San Gimignano, but the Poggio Imperiale fortress, the Archeodrome and the San Lucchese convent are worth a few hours, and its position makes it the most convenient base for San Gimignano, Siena and Chianti. Prices for food and rooms are also noticeably lower than in the famous hill towns.

The Archeodrome: a rebuilt early medieval village

Inside the archaeological park of the Poggio Imperiale fortress is the Archeodromo di Poggibonsi, a full-scale reconstruction of a village of huts from the age of Charlemagne, built on the evidence of the excavations on the hill itself. On opening days, re-enactors show how people lived, cooked and worked in the 9th and 10th centuries. It is especially good with children. Check the opening days on the park’s website before you go.

Poggibonsi in one day

1. Morning: Poggio Imperiale fortress. Climb to the Cassero, walk the walls and visit the Archeodrome. On a clear day you can see the towers of San Gimignano.
2. Late morning: the old town. Walk down to the Collegiata and the Palazzo Pretorio, with a coffee stop in one of the squares.
3. Lunch in town. For seafood or historic Tuscan cooking there is Ristorante Alcide, run by the same family as the hotel.
4. Afternoon: San Lucchese. A short drive up the hill just outside the centre to the Franciscan convent and its frescoes.
5. Sunset nearby. Colle Val d’Elsa (10 minutes) or Monteriggioni (15 minutes).

Poggibonsi as a base: the advantages of its position

The real strength of Poggibonsi, for the visitor, is its position:

• 12 km from San Gimignano
• 25 km from Siena
• 50 km from Florence (by train)
• 8 km from Colle Val d’Elsa
• At the entrance to the Chianti Classico

Hotel Alcide, in the centre of Poggibonsi, has always made use of this position: since 1849, the Ancillotti family’s property has been the starting point for those wanting to explore the Val d’Elsa and its surroundings.

What is nearby: San Gimignano, Colle Val d’Elsa, Chianti

From Poggibonsi you can easily reach:

• San Gimignano: 12 km, 15 minutes by car or 30 by bus
• Colle Val d’Elsa: 8 km, 10 minutes, the medieval crystal village
• Certaldo: 15 km, 20 minutes, Boccaccio’s village
• Chianti Classico: 15-20 km east, already within the DOCG zone
• Siena: 25 km, 30 minutes by car or train

Tuesday market and everyday life

The best day to see Poggibonsi as it really is is Tuesday morning, when the weekly market fills the town centre with stalls of fruit and vegetables, cheese, cured meats, clothes and household goods. It is a local market, used by residents more than tourists, and a good place to buy pecorino and local produce at normal prices.

Where to stay and eat in Poggibonsi

• Stay in the centre: Hotel Alcide is in the heart of Poggibonsi, a few steps from the railway station, with free parking for guests.
• Eat: the centre has trattorias, pizzerias and restaurants for every budget. For Tuscan and seafood cooking, including the historic cacciucco, there is Ristorante Alcide, run by the same family.
• Get around: trains to Siena and Florence and buses to San Gimignano leave from the station; by car the Florence-Siena expressway is a few minutes away.

Poggibonsi FAQ

Where is Poggibonsi? In the province of Siena, in the Val d’Elsa, on the Florence-Siena expressway: 25 km from Siena, 12 km from San Gimignano and about 50 km from Florence.

Can you get there without a car? Yes. Poggibonsi is on the Siena-Empoli railway line, with trains to Siena and to Florence (direct or changing at Empoli). Buses to San Gimignano leave from the station.

What is there to see near Poggibonsi? San Gimignano, Colle Val d’Elsa, Monteriggioni, Certaldo and the Chianti Classico area, all within 15 to 20 minutes by car.