Poggio Alla Croce: Circular Routes Between Landscape and History

Poggio Alla Croce is an ideal starting point for hikes that combine minimal planning with longer nature and cultural experiences. Several circular routes begin and end in the village, while others pass historic buildings, memorial sites and landscapes of Valdarno along the way. This gives you a destination where you can choose your route according to your time, fitness level and personal interests.

Circular Routes with Different Rhythms

The Anello Poggio Citerna circular route begins and ends in Poggio alla Croce, is 2.3 kilometres long, easy and takes about one hour. It is therefore suitable as a manageable tour whose length and low level of difficulty can be clearly assessed. The Anello San Polo circular route is considerably longer: it also begins and ends in Poggio alla Croce, is 21 kilometres long and has a moderate level of difficulty.

The Anello Poggio alla Croce – Monte Scalari circular route begins and ends in Poggio alla Croce and offers views of Valdarno and Chianti. The different lengths, levels of difficulty and landscape impressions help you compare the options around the village according to your preferred hiking rhythm. Another route, the Anello San Polo, leads to the Pieve di San Miniato a Rubbiana, whose origins date back to 1077.

Churches, Castles and Monastery Ruins Along the Way

The Anello Celle circular route also combines the trail with historic sites. Via CAI Trail No. 23, it reaches Castello di Celle. It also passes the Badia Montescalari, a Vallombrosian abbey dating from the first decades of the 11th century. On the Anello Poggio Citerna, visible ruins of a 13th-century convent for women lie along the route; the circular route passes these ruins at Poggio Citerna.

The Anello Pian d’Albero focuses more strongly on woodland and open vistas. It leads through chestnut forests and offers a viewing terrace overlooking the upper Valdarno and Pratomagno. At Pian d’Albero, the circular route also passes a memorial stone commemorating a Nazi-Fascist massacre on 20 June 1944, in which 37 people lost their lives. Here, landscape and remembrance meet along the same route, without the historical significance being overshadowed by the natural experience.

Remembrance as Part of the Village’s History

The Sentiero della Memoria begins in Poggio alla Croce and traces the history of the Sinigaglia Brigade and the Pian d’Albero massacre. Together with the memorial stone on the Anello Pian d’Albero, this route offers another way of engaging with the village’s past. Those who seek not only landscapes but also historical context on a hike will find specific points of reference along the route here.

Piazza del Giaggiolo

The history of Poggio alla Croce also includes a documented evening on Piazza del Giaggiolo. On Wednesday, 24 July, as part of the 23rd edition of “Estate al Poggio,” an evening with Italo Baldini was held there on the subject of “Poggio alla Croce nella prima metà del ’900.” The event was overseen by the Comune di Greve in Chianti and organised by the S.M.S. Poggio alla Croce. The square therefore appears as a specific place where the history of Poggio alla Croce was publicly addressed.

For the overarching travel overview: Incisa In Val D'arno.