Territory
What to do in Poggibonsi: art, landscape and good food
Poggibonsi between history, art and cuisine. The Fortress of Poggibonsi, the hills of Chianti, San Gimignano and where to eat well in the town centre.
Poggibonsi: the town you did not expect
Poggibonsi is often driven through without being visited - it sits on the road between Siena and Florence, between the Chianti Classico and San Gimignano, and for many travellers it is just a transit point towards the more famous destinations in the area. This is a mistake worth correcting.
Poggibonsi has its own layered and rich history, beginning with the medieval city of Podium Bonitii - destroyed by a Florence-Siena alliance in 1270 after a long siege - and continuing with the founding of the new Poggibonsi commissioned by the Florentines on the ruins of the old one. The town grew for centuries as a commercial and manufacturing centre, and today preserves traces of every era of its history.
The curious visitor finds things in Poggibonsi that they do not expect: an unfinished Medicean fortress by Giuliano da Sangallo, a remarkably beautiful Romanesque collegiate church, an open-air museum with medieval reconstructions, and a territorial cuisine that exploits the privileged position between the Chianti hills, the Val d’Elsa and the Via Francigena.
The Fortezza di Poggio Imperiale
The Fortezza di Poggio Imperiale is the most surprising thing Poggibonsi has to offer. Designed by Giuliano da Sangallo for Lorenzo the Magnificent in 1488, it was intended to be one of the symbols of Medici power in Tuscany - a fortress-city at the cutting edge of Renaissance military architecture.
It was never completed - Lorenzo died in 1492 and the project was abandoned. But what remains is extraordinary: the perimeter walls, the watchtower, the unfinished palace, the bastions that dominate the valley. The fortress has been transformed into a museum site with the Museo e Parco Archeologico, which includes reconstructions of medieval environments based on excavations carried out inside.
The park is open all year and offers a view over the Val d’Elsa that is worth the visit on its own. In spring and summer, the fortress hosts cultural events, medieval markets and historical re-enactments.
The historic centre and the Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
The historic centre of Poggibonsi develops along Corso Matteotti - the main street of the town, with its arcades and shops reminiscent of medium-sized Tuscan towns. It is not the historic centre of San Gimignano, but it has a dignity and authenticity that the more touristic places have often lost.
The Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta is the most important monument in the centre. Built in Romanesque-Gothic style, it preserves artworks of great value: a Madonna by Benozzo Gozzoli, a fresco by Ghirlandaio, sculptures by Benedetto da Maiano. It is not much visited - which means you can enjoy it in peace, without the queues and noise of Tuscany’s more famous churches.
Also worth a stop is the Palazzo Comunale with its civic tower, and the Chiesa di San Lorenzo, which preserves a medieval cloister and some sixteenth-century decorations.
The surroundings: between Chianti, San Gimignano and the Via Francigena
Poggibonsi is the natural starting point for exploring one of Tuscany’s richest food and wine territories.
San Gimignano is 12 km away - twenty minutes by car through the hills of the Vernaccia. The medieval towers of the city are worth seeing every time, and the Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG wineries offer tastings of some of the best white wine in Tuscany.
The Chianti Classico begins north of Poggibonsi - Castellina in Chianti is 14 km away, Greve in Chianti 23 km. The roads of Chianti (the famous Chiantigiana SR222) pass through a countryside of vineyards, cypresses and medieval farms transformed into wine estates.
The Via Francigena: the stretch of the Via Francigena that passes through the Poggibonsi area is well-marked and frequented by walkers from around the world. Even a short walk on this ancient route gives a sense of the landscape and history of the territory.
Where to eat in Poggibonsi
Poggibonsi has a solid gastronomic tradition, built on village tratttorie and territorial restaurants. The signature dishes of the area are ribollita and pici all’aglione, but the geographical position also means fresh Tyrrhenian fish is available in quality restaurants.
Ristorante Alcide, in the centre of Poggibonsi, is the restaurant with the longest history in the town - open since 1849, managed by the Ancillotti family, with a kitchen that combines the Tuscan land tradition with fresh Tyrrhenian fish. The cacciucco alla livornese is the most requested dish - made with fish that arrived from Livorno that morning.
A visit to Poggibonsi is well completed with dinner at Ristorante Alcide: the territory, the history and the cuisine in a single moment.
Want to taste it for real?
At Ristorante Alcide you will find it on the table - made the right way, with fresh ingredients and the care of the Ancillotti family since 1849.
