Toscana Terra Etrusca - metropolitan trail

The metropolitan trail of the project Toscana Terra Etrusca, in total about 90 km, begins from the connection with the Via Francigena near Fucecchio and then reaches Fiesole, passing through the municipalities of Cerreto Guidi, Vinci, Capraia e Limite, Carmignano (Prato), Signa, Campi Bisenzio, Florence and finally Fiesole, following the route of the ancient Etruscan way that connected Volterra with Fiesole.

The route starts in Fucecchio, exactly at the junction with the Via Francigena on Via di Ponzano, continues through the municipal area of Cerreto Guidi, up to Vinci. Starting from Vinci is the ridge route that, continuing then in the wood, leads to Mignana, from where, following another trail, you can reach the archaeological site of Pietramarina, that used to be located in the middle of the three big Etruscan settlements of Artimino, Fiesole and Volterra. The route continues then towards Vitolini and arrives, along the Via Carmignanese, to Calappiano.

Continuing towards Mignana, you proceed to the Etruscan settlement of Montereggi, that overlooked the basin of the Arno river and from there to the nearby Tomba dell'Uovo (Tomb of the Egg), so called becase of the huge egg-shaped monolith that dominated it. The route, after crossing the municipalities of Capraia e Limite and Carmignano, leads us towards the Archaeological Museum of Artimino, that houses precious relics from the nearby necropolises, and then heads towards Signa from the bridge that crosses the Ombrone river after Comeana. This last location preserves the Etruscan tombs of Boschetti and Montefortini; in Signa, instead, the planned stop is at the Antiquarium (inside the local Museo della Paglia straw museum), that houses the archaeological remains of the area.

From Signa you can cross the territory of Campi Bisenzio, in order to reach the remains of the Etruscan city of Gonfienti, overlooking the banks of the Bisenzio river, born on a Bronze Age settlement and later also used in Roman times.

Through the Parco dei Renai park you reach the cycle path along the right bank of the Arno river up to the Parco delle Cascine park and then, by now in the middle of the city, you arrive to the historic centre of Florence, where you can stop by the National Archaeological Museum, with its very rich collection of Etrurian treasures, first of all the very famous Chimera of Arezzo; later, crossing the area of Campo di Marte you can head towards Fiesole.

In Fiesole, besides the Archaeological Area, you can follow an itinerary of discovery of the traces of the past, and follow stretches of the mighty walls, that encircled the Etruscan city.

The project, that has been coordinated by the Metropolitan City of Florence, involved the placement of specific signage along the route, positioning some explicative showcases with the route map both in Fucecchio, at the start of the path, and in Florence (in the Niccolò Galli garden at Campo di Marte, before facing the climb leading up to Fiesole), and in Fiesole too, end point of the route.