Discovering San Gersolè, the School and Archive of the teacher Maltoni

Among the many available itineraries in the enchanting Impruneta area, there is a very unique one which leads us to know the small hamlet of San Gersolè, where the teacher Maria Maltoni, famous for her innovative didactic method, taught from 1920 to 1956.

The route begins with the visit to the Municipal Library of Impruneta, on Piazza Buondelmonti, where the Maltoni Archive is kept, a collection of material edited by pupils and selected by Maria Maltoni, together with many of her writings.

Driving along the provincial road Via Imprunetana towards Pozzolatico, for the 5km which separate Piazza Buondelmonti from the hamlet of San Gersolè, you cross a largely rural environment, distinguished by terrace cultivation, a wonderful agricultural landscape where olive groves and vineyards prevail.

After passing the hamlet of Mezzomonte, where the imposing Villa Corsini is found, you turn right following the road signs to Grassina and San Gersolè; after getting past the Torre Rossa estate you reach the adorable country village of San Gersolè, which provides a beautiful view over Florence and the Ema river valley.

The first thing to see in the hamlet is the San Pietro in Jerusalem Church, a Romanesque building which gives its name to the village; a few metres away from the church, on the left, walking along the street that then leads to Grassina, you find the new Maria Maltoni nursery school, a renovated building, joyful and homely, in which two sections are still active.
On the right, a few metres away from the nursery school, lies the building which housed the famous classroom where Maltoni used to teach: the old school, which cannot be visited, is easily identified by the stone memorial plaque on the facade.

It is worth finishing off the itinerary with the visit to the small San Gersolè cemetery, also located near the church, where the tomb of the teacher Maria Maltoni lies, whose restoration in 2014, 50 years after her death, was funded by the former pupils of San Gersolè, as a demonstration of their strong attachment to the teacher.