Overview
Orange Flag of the Italian Touring Club
It is the red of the terracotta of buildings and streets that immediately appears and strikes the historic centre of Certaldo, overlooking from Porta Alberi or Porta "al Sole", in this Castle rich in medieval atmospheres and suggestions.
To see the house of Boccaccio, who died there in December 1375, enriched by a library specialised in editions and translations of the Decameron and a splendid view of the Tuscan countryside from the tower and the loggia. Also worth a visit are the church of SS. Jacopo and Filippo and the Praetorian Palace whose coats of arms can be seen on the façade, with frescoed rooms, a Renaissance-style courtyard and ancient writings of prisoners on the walls from when it was a prison. There is also the deconsecrated church of SS. Tommaso and Propsero, with a cycle of frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli, and the numerous chapels, towers, houses from the 14th and 15th centuries, and craft workshops that line the narrow streets.
The village is often quiet but comes alive in summer especially during the Mercantia street theatre festival.At the table, try the Certaldo onion
.
