The trekking to Monteriggioni and the other dantesque castles of Val d’Elsa is an unmissable journey through the history of a wonderful area in the province of Siena. Although two of the three stages you will see on this route can be reached by car, it is only by a walking route that you are able to enjoy the suggestive views of a landscape that has preserved unchanged, for large stretches, the appearance it had in the Middle Ages.

Although with important testimonies since the Etruscan era, it is in the middle age that the Val d’Elsa experienced significant moments in its history and of which you will see the evident signs along the way: from the Via Francigena, connecting San Gimignano with Monteriggioni, to the fortified structures that served to defend the borders of the Republic of Siena.Our trek will start from Abbadia to Isola, an ancient monastery founded in 1001.

Once left Abbadia a Isola, we set off towards Castiglion Ghinibaldi, the second step of our Trekking to Monteriggioni and to the other dantesque castles of Val d’Elsa.

After having seen the outside of Castiglion Ghinibaldi (unfortunately it is not possible to visit it inside because the castle is abandoned and unsafe in some internal environments) we descend towards the plain to reach the last stage of our trekking to the castles of Val d’Elsa : Monteriggioni.

Once you have finished visiting Monteriggioni and having told you its story, you will have some free time to bring a souvenir with you, as well as to climb the castle walls, equipped with a special modern walkway, to admire the surrounding landscape that allows you to the east. to see the town of Castellina in Chianti, while to the West it makes you glimpse the unmistakable towers of San Gimignano.When we leave Monteriggioni, we take a path in the woods that corresponds to the ancient route of the Via Francigena, still today traveled by thousands of pilgrim and traveler every year.After the wood, the road returns to the level: a few hundred metres are missing to return to Abbadia a Isola, the starting point; as indication of the journey ending you will find an oak tree, already encountered on the outward leg but which you will now notice more because the time of sunset is approaching…