Varna: Local History, Churches and Historic Routes

Varna between Local History and Cultural Heritage

Today, Varna is a small settlement of houses on the ridge road on the left of the Elsa. At Varna, Villa Capei preserves a tower and some remains of walls attributed to the medieval period.

Churches and Sacred Architecture

A particularly multifaceted example is the Canonica di San Giovanni in Varna. It is a single-nave church with a late Romanesque basic structure and is documented as early as 1230. Next to the Canonica, the Oratory of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament was built in 1577. In 1705, the façade and the surrounding walls were altered: the façade was modified and the surrounding walls were raised. In 1785, the Canonica became a parish church with baptismal rights. The Church of San Giovanni Battista in Varna contains one of two surviving copies of the Pala Gambassi in Gambassi.

San Girolamo is also located in the Varna district of the municipality of Gambassi Terme. The complex includes a 16th-century oratory; San Girolamo is a Liberty-style villa. For visitors interested in culture, this site combines sacred architecture with the Liberty style.

Museums and Historical Traces

The Museo Archeologico/Spezieria di Santa Fina is a museum in the area around Varna. Torre Grossa and the Museo della Tortura e della Pena di Morte are also museums in the surrounding area. Those wishing to focus their stay on culture can consider these institutions as different destinations.

The historical perspective also extends beyond individual buildings. Castello Torre di Varna was built around the year 1000. Castello di Fulignano is a castle in the area around Varna. Leonardo depicted Varna on one of his famous maps. The Canonica di San Giovanni in Varna was among the places damaged by the people of Volterra during a campaign against San Gimignano.

The Wider Surrounding Landscape

In the wider regional surroundings of Varna are Monte Calvarino, Monte Maggio and Monte Vasone; all three are mountains. La Cupola is a peak in Varna’s wider regional surroundings. These four landscape features therefore lie on a different spatial level from buildings in Varna and museums in the surrounding area. This distinction can help with your planning if you want to keep visits to local sites separate from broader landscape-related activities.

Historic Routes and Travel Planning

The Canonica di San Giovanni in Varna is one of the religious centres along the Francigena routes running farther below. In addition, a historic second route from the San Gimignano area led from Montecarulli to a ford of the Torrente dei Casciani farther downstream and then onwards towards Varna.

The Canonica di San Giovanni is located in the village of Varna, a few kilometres from Gambassi. For your travel planning, it is worth considering the village itself, the area around Varna and the wider regional surroundings separately.

Discover More Destinations

Other places you can visit include Camporbiano and Badia A Cerreto.

Back to the overview of the wider destination: Gambassi Terme.