Services - restaurants, pizzerias and cafes - large shopping centre and various local food stores - food and clothes market every Wednesday morning - fish and vegetable market every Saturday morning - stores for photography, shoes, fashion - banking - swimming pool and sports centre - parks - churches - phone services
Annual events - Carnevale (weekends in February or March leading up to Lent) - Sagra del Cinghiale (festival celebrating wild boar held on weekends from March-May) - Certaldo in Cornice (May) - Cena Medievale (medieval dinner, June) - Mercantia (week-long arts and dance festival, July) - Outdoor cinema (June-September evenings) - Sagra della Bistecca e Fungo Porcino (festival celebrating the Florentine steak and mushrooms, held on weekends from September-October) - Wine harvest (September-October) - Presepe Vivente (Christmas production, December) - Olive harvest (November-December) For more details on events in Certaldo go to Certaldo.org
Property Location
Fattoria Bassetto
The Bassetto building compound is situated on a slight slope above Road No. 429, south-west of the town of Certaldo. The compound has double access to the main road through a beautiful internal driveway, tracing the original path of the New Francigena, passing from east to west through the property. Bassetto is comprised of a series of buildings erected in different phases over the course of its history.
The older buildings are constructed from brick masonry, and the parts added in the 18th Century after being purchased by Piero Guicciardini, are constructed from stone (these differences are clearly visible where the wall surfaces are not painted). From the Leopoldino Land Register (Catasto Leopoldino, c. 1820) it was found that the oldest buildings were the fattoria (farmhouse) in the center of the compound, with the tinaia (vat room) and cappella (chappel) to the west, and the fienile (hay loft) and another minor annex to the east.
During the 18th Century, the fattoria, the tinaia and the cappella were united to form the one united compound that exists today. The cappella was expanded and became the villa (owner's residence) and the fienile extended to its present size. At the end of the 18th Century, as documented in the historical records, a large cantina (cellar) to the north-west and additional annex to the east were added to the complex.
The ensemble of different buildings form a very articulate corpus that create a remarkable continuous space and has a truly authentic rustic charm. The stone rampart running along the south side of the courtyard in the center of the compound contributes to the unifying aspect of the whole, even though the different parts were once disarticulated and varied, and then unified by the use of bricks, made on site, and local stone as building materials.
Town location
Certaldo
Certaldo is located in the very "belly button" of Tuscany. When you visit you will have ready access to everything the region is famous for. That means your own holidays in this area will be enriched with the Tuscan wine, food, art and cultural experiences on our doorstep.
For instance, the wine growing region of Chianti is only a short drive from Certaldo. And the famed towns of San Gimignano, Florence, Siena and Pisa are easy day trips by train, bus or car.
However despite Certaldo's proximity to these places, they haven't influenced the price tag in town. Food and produce remain at local prices, property is affordable and better than anything, Certaldo remains a quiet stopover when compared to these busy towns - a great place to retire to at night or to explore should you venture to the old medieval quarter Certaldo Alto.
While the industrial development near the Bassetto quarter and the new roads coming through Certaldo are possibly not completely ideal, it retains a quieter, rural air than other towns of note nearby.
Certaldo also has excellent transport options making it incredibly functional for visitors. There are budget airlines that service Florence, Pisa and Rome's airports. Train and bus services also come right into town.
Certaldo's best feature is the delightful medieval centre known as Certaldo Alto on the hilltop overlooking the new commercial centre. Certaldo Alto is a classic castled village with delightful churches, hidden murals, gracious squares, various dining options and some great views over the countryside and town below. And best of all it remains largely tourist-free throughout the year.
It was the birthplace of Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), one of the fathers of the Italian language, and also the seat of the Vicariate during the Republic of Florence and maintained a privileged political and judicial position for many years.
The modern commercial centre in the valley is renowned for its frame and shoe makers while the agricultural areas surrounding town are still busy with olive and wine makers and many come into town to make use of the communal processing centres in harvest seasons.
