If you intend to spend a long weekend in the area, after the above-mentioned excursion, you might want to use the following route which winds through the towns of Borgo San Lorenzo, Vicchio and Dicomano.
In Borgo San Lorenzo we recommend a visit to San Lorenzo Church, an important Romanesque building that conserves a precious Madonna attributed to Giotto (tel. +39 055 8459295). We also recommend the particular Museo della Manifattura Chini (Ceramics Museum) in the finely restored Villa Pecori Giraldi (tel. +39 055 8456230), which is dedicated to the vast array of activities of the Chini family during the Liberty period (architectural furnishings and various fittings for the home in ceramic, stoneware and glass
in Art Nouveau style).
If you are looking for a natural environment and fresh air, you can take a trip to the Museo della Civiltà Contadina di Casa d’Erci (museum of farm life and customs) where, apart from the visit to the country house which offers a display of farm tools and furniture,
you can take a hike (max one hour) on a path that runs through the woods and across a stream; and you can stop to eat at an equipped picnic area (tel. +39 055 8492519 - 338 6880647).
From Borgo San Lorenzo you can take the main road Faentina towards Florence; once at the Passo di Vetta le Croci, the road on the right leads up to the Convent of Montesenario, in the nearby of the Mugello territory, which towers over the Mugello valley, offering a
magnificent breathtaking view (tel. +39 055 406441). Not far off you find the imposing Medicean Park of Pratolino (tel. +39 055 4080777).
The tour turns back towards the valley, therefore Borgo San Lorenzo, and ends in Vicchio with a visit to the restored Home of Giotto (tel.+39 055 8448251 - 055 8439225 ), in his native Vespignano, and the Museo Beato Angelico di Arte Sacra e Religiosità Popolare (sacred art mseum, tel.055 8497082 - 055 8439225) in the historical centre of the town. In the nearby of the main square, piazza Giotto, the little Montelleri Lake where you can fish, picnic or just relax.
Heading towards Vicchio, the road takes you to Dicomano with a visit to the Museo Archeologico Comprensoriale del Mugello e della Val di Sieve (archeological museum, tel. +39 055 8385408). The museum offers an educational laboratory and a outstanding itinerary: it embraces a vast period with artifacts that date from as far back as the Prehistoric era and move through history until the Renaissance.
Overlooking the town, in a dominant position in the nearby of the historical centre, the Santa Maria church which has almost completely maintained its original Romanesque structure (tel. +39 055 838050).
From Dicomano You continue towards San Godenzo; the heart of the village is the thousand-year-old Abbey dedicated to San Gaudenzio eremita. The majestic Romanesque building, consecrated in 1028 by Bishop Jacopo il Bavaro, on 8th June 1302 hosted the conference between Dante Alighieri and the others exiled from Florence with the feudal lords of the area.
From San Godenzo You can continue towards Castagno d'Andrea and the pretty church of San Martino, with frescoes by Pietro Annigoni, a tribute to the painter Andrea del Castagno and his birthplace. Located on the outskirts of the Parco delle Foreste Casentinesi, the village houses the Documentation Centre, which houses the Virtual Museum of Andrea del Castagno. That is the starting point for excursions on the Falterona.
