Visit Date: April 29, 2019, at approximately 10:00 a.m.
This trip is now on its third day. It is still in the early stage. We had a relatively loose schedule on this day. Because the weather was not so good, we gave up our original plan to go over the mountains, and after seeing two beautiful villages, we went to Bologna, the central city of Emilia Romagna, and stayed there for one night. After a leisurely departure from San Gimignano, we arrived at Castelfranco Piandiscò, a village located on the south side of the Apennines, which run from northwest to southeast through the center of Italy, in about an hour. It was chosen as one of the most beautiful villages in Italy.
The village used to be called Castelfranco di Sopra, which was chosen as a beautiful village, but on January 1, 2014, it merged with Piandiscò and took its current name.
The village itself has existed since around the 10th century, and it seems to have a history because it was a fortress of the Duchy of Florence from the 13th century. However, because it is a small village in the mountains and there is no special tourist attraction, there were only local people and not many tourists. Fewer people may be because it is not the tourist season. However, there was a supermarket and cafe at the entrance to the village was very convenient. Cafe can also take a restroom break and thank you.
First, park your car at the parking lot at the entrance of the village and enter the village through the magnificent entrance tower as you can see.
We went to the central square. As usual, the central square is full of cars. It is a common scene.
The church of the village is the « Church of San Tomaso », which seems to have existed for a long time, but was enlarged in the 17th and 18th centuries and restored in 1932. The interior has been preserved in its original state of the 17th and 18th centuries. It had a simple but comfortable atmosphere.
I think it was an ordinary « beautiful village » that was not particularly attractive. At best, it was like this, but to be honest, it was a bit disappointing. This is also a typical tour of beautiful villages.
Actually, we went to Loro Ciuffenna, another beautiful village nearby, but we gave up sightseeing because it was getting rainy and cold. It’s a pity because I felt the atmosphere was a little better there. In addition, there are many beautiful villages on the north side of the Apennines, so we will visit them again another time, when the weather is better.
