Boccaccio's red brick village, reached by funicular
Certaldo is divided in two: the modern town in the Elsa valley and Certaldo Alto, the medieval village on the hill, built entirely of red brick and reached by a small funicular. Here lived and died Giovanni Boccaccio, author of the Decameron, and his house, rebuilt after wartime bombing, is now a museum and study centre.
Along the main street, Via Boccaccio, stands the Palazzo Pretorio, its façade covered with the coats of arms of the vicars who governed the town for Florence, with frescoed rooms and prison cells. The church of Santi Jacopo e Filippo holds Boccaccio's tomb. In July, the street festival Mercantia fills the village with theatre, acrobats and artisans.
Tip: try the local red onion of Certaldo, sweet and depicted on the town's coat of arms, in a soup or marmalade.
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