Discovering Empoli’s historic centre

The Glass Museum is located in the old Salt Warehouse and documents the history of the city’s glassmaking industry, which dates back to the fifteenth century. This artisan activity, which has long characterized the community of Empoli, both from an economic and a social point of view, is today perhaps more tenuous, but still authentic and relevant.

Palazzo Ghibellino, named after the convention that was held there in 1260, houses the Civic Museum of Paleontology, a museum that, despite its small size, offers an overview of the history of the Earth. With its themed rooms, it explains the main eras that have left their mark on the planet, including fossils, large dinosaurs and tactical-sensory routes. The museum pays special attention to the changes that have taken place in particular in Tuscany and in the Valdarno, recounting its paleo-environmental evolution.

The neighbourhood of Pontorme in Empoli, gave birth to a very important painter: Jacopo Pontormo, born here in 1494, was a pioneer of Mannerism. You can visit the house where he spent his youth: through a multimedia installation, the life and artistic path of the artist is made clear. The nearby church of San Michele features two of his works: two sixteenth-century panels depicting Saints Michael the Archangel and John the Evangelist.

Empoli's cuisine offers dishes that reflect the Tuscan tradition, such as ribollita and tasty game, but there are two products that are really unique in this territory: the Empoli artichoke and the white wine of the Empolese DOC.