Riding in the countryside of Peccioli and Montaione
If you love to travel in the nature and beauty of Tuscany, you can take this one-day bike route and thus discover Montaione, Villamagna, Peccioli, Castelfalfi: precious villages immersed in the Valdera countryside, among olive groves and barren hills.
You start from Piazza Gramsci in Montaione and turning immediately left onto Viale da Filicaja you begin to descend until you reach the intersection with the road in the direction of San Vivaldo. You then turn right and follow the road, which in the first stretch is slightly downhill and then begins to climb when there are only a few kilometers to San Vivaldo.
Having reached San Vivaldo, near the cappella dell’Ascensione (chapel of the Ascension) that we see on the left and which is part of the Sacro Monte di San Vivaldo complex, take the road to the right in the direction of Iano. You then descend at full speed for a few kilometers on a road that in places is covered by trees, until you reach the quaint village of Iano (a place once famous for Onyx mining) where you can refresh yourself with a cool drink at the village cafeteria or a little further on at the trattoria for a quick snack before setting off again in the direction of Villamagna. During this descent it is worth slowing down and enjoying the fantastic panorama that opens up over the Tuscan countryside: on the right you can see the village of Castelfalfi dominating above the golf course, while in front, in the distance, you can see Volterra.
Continue for another 7 kilometers riding effortlessly along the ridge of hills until you meet a short climb of about 1 kilometer that will take you straight to Villamagna. It is nice to notice how the landscape changes becoming wilder and more barren with hills as far as the eye can see, typical of the countryside surrounding Volterra.
Once past the village of Villamagna, the road continues for 500 meters downhill until you come to a junction in the road: take the road on the right towards Peccioli and continue downhill crossing an avenue of cypress trees for 2 kilometers to the next junction in the road where you turn right following the signs for Peccioli. The road continues for 2 more kilometers on a flat plain through the barren Valdera hills as far as the junction for Montelopio. We turn left for Montelopio: here begins a winding and at times challenging climb made up of hairpin bends passing a long cypress avenue that will accompany you for 3 kilometers to the characteristic village of Montelopio.
After about 2 kilometers you reach Fabbrica, here the road continues for about 6 kilometers on a flat plain interspersed with slight ups and downs through the countryside where the Tuscan olive tree is the undisputed star.
A tall bell tower will welcome you to Peccioli, where you can make a brief stop in the historic town center to catch your breath and visit the ancient church and alleyways of this Tuscan village. From Peccioli follow the signs for Pontedera and after 2 kilometers downhill you reach an old tobacconist's where you make a right-end turn toward Castelfalfi.
After about 2,8 kilometers turn right following signs for Legoli - a small, quaint village located on top of a hill - that is worth a visit. Then a climb begins, at times challenging, for about 2,7 kilometers until you reach Legoli.
After passing by the inhabited area, the road goes downhill for another 2,8 kilometers to the junction on the provincial road. When you reach the junction, continue in the direction of Castelfalfi, which is about 3,6 kilometers from here.
You set off again in the direction of San Vivaldo, which you reach after 4 kilometers of slightly uphill road, and at the junction turn left in the direction of Montaione going back along the initial stretch of the route for approximately 10 kilometers.