Guided tour of colle val d’elsa “City of crystal”

Full of surprises, this medieval town it’s today famous for the production of crystal: our guide will take you to Colle Alta, where the ancient tower-house of Arnolfo di Cambio, the sixteenth-century Palazzo Campana with a very particular structure, the Pretorio palaces and the Priori and the Duomo, are all symbols of an illustrious past; alleys and hidden passages house small shops with precious crystals that invite you to enter. The guided tour continues to Colle Bassa: in the plain, where life is more lively, the Elsa flows.

Thanks to the ‘gore’, artificial canals ingeniously built by the Colligiani since the Middle Ages, its waters have fed in the past mills, paper mills and ironworks still recognizable among the most recent houses. The lift that connects the hill to the plain, created by the contemporary architect Jean Nouvel, is very modern. The museum offer is also very rich: the Archaeological Museum, the Civic and Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art and the Crystal Museum, are all worth a guided tour. Upon request, our guide can include a visit to a crystal production workshop in the itinerary.

Admission fee recommended: Archaeological Museum or Civic and Diocesan Museum or Crystal Museum.

Duration: half day

List of places we will visit during the sightseeing “Colle Val d’Elsa city of crystal”:

• Tower-House of Arnolfo
• Palazzo Campana
• Palazzo Pretorio
• Palazzo dei Priori
• Duomo / Cathedral
• Jean Nouvel Lift
• Archaeological Museum
• Civic and Diocesan Museum
• Crystal Museum

This tour is best suited for: groups, individuals, schools