Discover Sant'Ansano – Holiday apartment in Sant'Ansano for culture and trekking

Sant'Ansano combines works of art and relics in the Pieve di San Giovanni Battista with the Romanesque forms of Sant’Ansano in Greti. When choosing a holiday apartment in Sant'Ansano, you can therefore shape the focus of your stay around culture, activity and landscape.

Art and traces of the past

The Pieve di San Giovanni Battista in Sant’Ansano in Greti is first documented in a charter issued by Emperor Otto III in 998. It houses a 14th-century tempera altarpiece from the Giottesque school depicting Sant’Ansano and angels. Another painting, dating from 1625, shows Pope Alexander I being freed from prison by an angel; it was created by the Sienese painter Rutilio Manetti. The Pieve was also able to acquire a finger relic of Sant'Ansano. Since 1680, it has preserved the relics of San Bonifacio in an urn in the right aisle.

Sant’Ansano in Greti can also be understood through its architectural details. The long side, visible from the outside, makes it possible to mentally reconstruct the former Romanesque church. The exterior wall consists of ashlar blocks made of grey sandstone. Sculpturally decorated capitals support the broad arches of the central nave and are considered 12th-century sculptural elements. When viewing the site, it is therefore worth paying attention not only to a single work of art, but also to appreciating the architectural forms and religious artefacts together.

Trekking route and Tuscan landscape

The Cammino di Santo Sano is a trekking route along old paths that connects Vinci and Sant’Ansano. It passes through typically Tuscan landscapes. The Cammino also includes a reenactment of the historic rite of the town of Vinci from the period 1564–2026. For your travel planning, this results in a clear choice between a day focused on the Pieve and the Romanesque church and a stay that also takes in the route and landscape. If different interests come together in your travel group, you can base your choice of holiday apartment on this combination of culture and activity.

Palaces, hills and park in the surrounding area

In the wider regional surroundings of Sant'Ansano are Villa Medicea la Magia, Fiorelli Palace and Palazzo Pretorio. All three are palaces. Da Bobo All'acciaiolo, an ancient site, is also located in the wider regional surroundings. I Fornelli is a hill in the immediate vicinity of Sant'Ansano. Sasso Regina is a hill in the vicinity of Sant'Ansano. Parco delle Cascine di Tavola is a park in the vicinity of Sant'Ansano.

This distinction between the immediate vicinity, the vicinity and the wider regional surroundings gives you an objective framework for choosing accommodation. You can consider whether you primarily want to include the Pieve and the architectural forms of Sant'Ansano in your travel planning, or whether the palaces in the wider regional surroundings, as well as the hills, the ancient site and the park, should also play a role.

Other places for your planning: Ostina, San Pierino, Montecarelli, Polcanto, Impruneta, Palazzuolo Sul Senio, Marradi, Linari

To the higher-level travel overview: Florence.