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Certaldo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Certaldo is a town of Tuscany, Italy, in the province of Florence. Heading southwest, it is 50 minutes by rail and 35 minutes by car from the city of Florence. Heading north, it is 25 minutes by rail from Siena. The population in 1901 was 4,552 (the town); 9,120 (commune). The population in 2004 was 16,042.

It was the home of the family of Giovanni Boccaccio, who died and was buried here in 1375. His house, of red brick, like the other old houses here, was restored in 1823 and furnished with old furniture. A statue of him was erected in the main square in 1875. The Palazzo Pretorio, or Vicariale, the residence of the Florentine governors, recently restored to its original condition, has a picturesque facade adorned with ceramic coats of arms, and in the interior are various frescoes dating from the 13th to the 16th century. The town as a whole is picturesque, surrounded by vineyards. The older section, known as Certaldo Alto, lies on a hill 426 feet above sea-level. From there, one can see the marvelous towers of San Gimignano in the distance.

The town hosts several festivals a year. The largest and most famous is Mercantia, a week-long party in Certalo Alto. It involves numerous street performers from across Italy, Europe and even the Americas.

See R. Pantini, S. Gimignano e Certaldo (Bergamo, 1904), p.iox seq.