The stage

32° Stage: from San Gimignano to Monteriggioni

The stage from San Gimignano to Monteriggioni is among the most fascinating of the Via Francigena. Because of its length, many divide it and travel it in two days: from San Gimignano to Colle Val d’Elsa the first day and from Colle val d’Elsa to Monteriggioni the second.

The stage begins with leaving San Gimignano through the Porta San Giovanni in the direction of the Benedictine abbey of Monte Oliveto Minore.
After two fords, go up towards Torraccia di Chiusi, tower-castle of the Abbracciabeni, cross the river Foci and head towards the abbey of Badia a Coneo, an abbey of Lombard origin belonging to the Vallombrosian monks.
After passing the Calcinaia mill and the Bagni delle Caldane, from Etruscan-Roman times we reach the fortified village of Strove, built in 994 by the lords of Staggia, and in Badia a Isola, an important monastery built in the 10th century.
Finally we arrive at our destination, the castle of Monteriggioni, a citadel fortified by the Sienese in 1213 against the Florentine advance. Even today its walls appear as a crown of Towers.

Water and food are only available in residential areas.