CITY OF SAN MINIATO

San Miniato is a wonderful medieval town located in the heart of Tuscany: it stands on a natural hill, which top offers the view of the whole Arno valley. The ancient village still preserves its old charm, built by streets and alleys that run through the historical heart of the city. Picturesque corners, monuments, churches, historical palaces and stairs enrich a village that lays on multiple levels, topped by La Rocca di Federico II, which stands high on a green garden, from which you can enjoy a 360° view of the surrounding landscape.

San Miniato is born in a strategic position: halfway between Pisa and Florence, the village lays near other excellent art cities as Siena, Volterra and San Gimignano, the Chianti hills, and a few kilometers away you can experience the village of Bolgheri, in the beautiful Tuscan coast and its sea. You can also find Livorno and Piombino harbours, Pisa and Florence airports and the motorway network, elements that make San Miniato a starting point for an historical, cultural, natural and gastronomical tourism.

San Miniato boasts little yet important high quality wineries (which surely deserve a visit and wine-tasting); butchler’s and Norcerie that keep the typical meat and insaccati tradition going; shops that deal with noble products such as truffle, E.V.O. oil, Chianti, Sangiovese; excellent restaurants that celebrate a slow-food mentality; and last but not least, hotels and B&B’s to end your staying in San Miniato whit a good relaxing night!

Historically, San Miniato has always had a strategic position: in medieval times the town was crossed by the “medieval highway”, the via Francigena, and still today San Miniato welcomes anyone that walks its territory. The first man to see the vision in San Miniato was the emperor Federico II, who built a tower to scan the surroundings. Later the beautiful landscape caught Leonardo Da Vinci too, who came here to study nature and to perfect his paintings and inventions. In the meantime a young Napoleon was walking the streets of the village, he was in Italy to make war, but came in peace to this town: it was right here that his family was born, and had its noble titles.

Here you can find one of the most appreciated varieties of Truffle in the world, the Rare White Truffle (Tuber Magnatum Pico), as fine as his twin White Truffle in Alba. San Miniato is known worldwide for the pleasant scented quality of its truffles, celebrated in the annual “Exhibition-Market Festival of White Truffle”, a food and wine festival that takes place the last three weekends of November, tradition that has continued for half a century. The discovery of some recent documents states to San Miniato the first place for the biggest truffle ever found (originally attributed to other areas). In the restaurants of San Miniato you can always taste fresh truffle based meals, coming 100% from our territory; the White Truffle is the “king of all truffles”, but each season has its own truffle: in spring we find the Marzuolo Truffle, also known as Bianchetto (Tuber Borchii), in summer the Scorzone Black Truffle (Tuber Aestivum Vitt.) and in winter other varieties of winter black truffle like the Rare Black Truffle (Tuber Melanosporum) and Uncinatum Black Truffle (Tuber Uncinatum).