Barberino Val d'Elsa
Discovering the territory
On the border between Chianti and Valdelsa, where the characteristics of these two areas blend, lies the territory of Barberino, in which gentle hills dotted with vineyards, olive groves and centenary cypresses succeed each other and then give way to a wilder, wooded and rocky landscape.
But Barberino's exclusivity is formed by the many small medieval boroughs on the hills all around the main town, tangible testimonies of a past still alive in these places full of history and legends.
Although they all stem from the same cultural and historic roots, they are each different, appearing as little "worlds" to be discovered. Here, for example, is Sant'Appiano, the existence of which can be traced back to Etruscan-Roman times, with the ruins of the Baptistery and Romanesque Church where the 
mortal remains are conserved of the Saint who lived here in the IV-V century, and whose name was given to the village that had previously been called Monteloro; Petrognano, representing all that remains of the lost city of Semifonte, razed to the ground in 1202 by Florence, that later, according to legend, built Barberino with stones taken from it; Tignano, that, already in existence in 1000, is one of the few practically unchanged "walled" towns; and Vico with its noble palazzos, Linari, a pretty fortified borough of very old origins and very attractive because of its position among the green hills of Valdelsa. The few paces needed to cross the borough take us back in time, to the past that saw Linari as a real economic centre of Valdelsa. Poneta, Pastine, Poppiano, Marcialla, Monsanto, Olena, Cortine, San Filippo, each contains treasures to be seen as more interesting examples of historic testimonies.
It is probably the union of all these alluring places, echoes of times gone by, with a natural environment of intense beauty that gives this territory its unique and indisputable charm, to which one cannot remain indifferent.
