"The Circular of Castles and..."

After last year's success, "La Circolare dei Castelli e..." ("The Circular of Castles and..."), an initiative that leads to the discovery of the ancient villages and small museums of the Lower Valdarno, is off again.

From September 17 to October 8, a series of guided tours with coordinated and free bus/shuttle transportation to the four historic centers of Castelfranco di Sotto, Montopoli in Val d'Arno, S. Miniato and S. Maria a Monte is scheduled.

The aim of these small tours, organized by the Lower Valdarno Museum System, is to offer a new opportunity for citizens and tourists to visit the area and discover its special beauties.

The tours will last the whole day, from morning to late afternoon, and will touch the four municipalities over the course of four days, each dedicated to two different historic centers.

The program:

• Sunday, September 17
  from S. Maria a Monte to Castelfranco di Sotto
  morning - From Sant'Ippolito in Anniano to the castellum Sanctae Mariae ad Montem: history and evolution of a settlement from Roman times to the Middle Ages
  afternoon - On the Via Francigena in Galleno
• Sunday, September 24
  from S. Miniato to Castelfranco di Sotto
  morning - S. Miniato between history and nature: the Vicoli Carbonai and the Museum of the Municipal Palace and Loretino
  afternoon - Castelfranco and its Churches
• Sunday, October 1
  from S. Miniato to Montopoli in Val d'Arno
  morning - “The Diocese of San Miniato 400 years after its birth”
  afternoon - On the trail of the ancient castle of Marti
• Sunday, October 8
  from Montopoli in Val D'Arno to S. Maria a Monte
  morning - Discovering Montopoli Castle and its charcoal pits
  afternoon - The illustrious homini of S. Maria a Monte: discovering the affairs of the Carducci family and Vincenzo Galilei through documents

Information:

• free participation with reservations required by 5 p.m. the day before the day of the visit
• free lunch
• reservations: tel. 3281289087 - circolaredeicastelli@gmail.com