From Pisa to Florence
The train takes you from Pisa to Florence just an hour – a pleasant journey, but there is little reason to stop anywhere. Pontedera and Empoli are primarily industrial cities; Empoli offers convenient southbound connections to Siena (by train or bus) and north to Vinci, Leonardo's birthplace. When traveling by car, it is best to use the highway, by Lucca, Pistoia and Prato. Direct road (N67) is one of the slowest roads in Italy, although numerous detours are attractive in terms of landscape.
Certosa di Pisa
Certosa di Pisa (12 km east of Pisa) is a fourteenth-century monastery at the foot of Monte Pisano, near CALCI. It can be visited with a guide (V-IX Tue-Fri. 9.00-19.00, nd. 9.00-16.00; XI-IV Tue-Fri. i nd. 9.00-16.00; 2000 L), and after about an hour you have a good idea of the relationship between the building and the life of this strict order.. Monks could talk to each other, and even look at yourself, only on Sundays; each had its own small chapel, and meals were served through windows, to minimize the possibility of face-to-face contact.
San Miniato
SAN MINIATO is approximately the same distance from Pisa and Florence, which, combined with the location on the hill, made the castle one of the strategically most important fortresses in the Middle Ages. On clear days, you can see the coast to the west and Fiesole to the east from here.
The views are the highlight of San Miniato Alto, but the old Upper Town also prides itself on the elegance of its squares: Republic square, with seventeenth-century sgraffiti and (restored) 14th-century shops, oraz Prato del Duomo, with an old belfry and a palace in the Lombard style. The cathedral itself is Romanesque from the outside, with admixtures of other styles, and has a baroque interior in an eye-catching setting, though an overloaded version. The most beautiful of the churches is the Church of St.. Dominica (San Domenico), with a tombstone designed by Donatello and carved by Bernardo Rosselino.
A bus from San Miniato Train Station or Pontedera will drop you off near the Cathedral (some stop only in the Lower Town - a long way). From here, it is not far on foot to the famous Rocca lookout (fortress) Frederick II, reconstructed after the destruction of the last war and now housing a very expensive restoration.
Empoli and Vinci
EMPOLI is a glass production centre, and at the same time an important road and rail junction. At least once an hour there are buses and trains to Florence from here (35 Min) and Siena and buses (40 Min) to Vinci. Buses to Vinci are operated by COPIT and depart from before Bar Azzuro (where tickets are also bought), across the square from lazzi's Pisa/Florence bus stands. Wanting to quickly look around the city, best to go to the central Piazza degli Uberti, where the collegiate church is located, with a Romanesque lower part, and the upper one was reconstructed in the 19th century. It is adjacent to the Museo Collegiata (wt.-nd. 10.00-12.00), with a good collection of Renaissance sculpture and painting (Masolino, Boots, Bemardo Rossellino).
The situated Fr. 11 km to the north of VINCI is surrounded by beautiful hills and olive groves. The town itself is rather uninteresting, but the thirteenth-century castle has survived, where the Museo Vinciana was organized (codz. 9.30-12.00 i 14.30-18.00; 3000 L). There is not a single work or memento of the master there, but this is compensated by an ingenious exhibition of models — tanks, water cannon, flying machines, Gear, all kinds of turnstiles – constructed according to Leonardo's designs. Leonardo's actual birthplace (Free entrance) is further among the hills, in the village of ANCHIATA — a beautiful walk among poppy fields.
From Vinci you can make a loop north to Pistoia along the picturesque road. Buses from Empoli pass through this town three times a day.