Pontelungo: Churches, Trails and River Meadows along the Ombrone

Pontelungo reveals its character where trails, churches and the river landscape of the Ombrone Pistoiese come together. This gives you a destination that combines traces of cultural history with varied landscapes: historic churches, a river environment, dense riverside vegetation and trails leading from Pontelungo towards the hills.

Churches between the Middle Ages and the present day

The present-day Church of San Piero in Vincio was built in 1645. Its history can be traced back to a document from 1185, in which it appears as S. Petri Vico Petrosi. In the 13th century, San Piero in Vincio belonged to the Pieve di Groppoli. Several historical layers thus come together in this church building, without the later construction obscuring its older connections.

S. Pancrazio a Celle also combines more recent structural changes with older traces: the present-day church was renovated in the 18th century and preserves Romanesque architectural structures. It is considered the church in the Pistoia area with the earliest documentary evidence. A much more recent addition is the present-day Church of Santi Pietro e Girolamo in Collina, built in the 1990s to a design by architect Giovanni Michelucci.

Trails for different stages

For local orientation, bus route 76 operated by Autolinee Toscane is relevant. It is designated Pistoia FS–Pontelungo–Ramini–Case Soldi and includes the stops PONTELUNGO Ombrone and PONTELUNGO. Among the pilgrimage and hiking routes, the Pistoia–Serravalle section of the Cammino di San Jacopo begins in Pontelungo and leads to the Convento di Giaccherino. One route of the Cammino di San Jacopo is described as running down into the valley to the Torrente Vincio di Montagnana; it then leads back around the hill to Pontelungo.

The Romea Strata reaches the entrance to Pontelungo, where it meets the Ombrone Pistoiese again. At this entrance, it turns left towards the slopes of Montalbano and leads to the Church of Santi Pietro e Girolamo in Collina. After a few kilometres, the Romea Strata climbs through forests, vineyards and olive groves in the Montalbano hills. The route can therefore be understood as a transition from the river environment to a hilly landscape shaped by agriculture and woodland.

River meadows and wildlife

An environmental trail runs within the right and left river embankments and through the river meadows from Pontelungo to Gello. In this section, the broad Ombrone floodplain has dense riverside vegetation. It is also home to birdlife that partly resembles that of typical wetlands south of the plain. Anyone wishing to discover Pontelungo through its landscape will find here a clear contrast to the uphill trails through forests, vineyards and olive groves.

This landscape is complemented by the small Romanesque Church of Pieve di San Michele a Broccoli. It is located on a hill separating the Vincio Valley from the Ombrone Valley. Pontelungo is therefore suitable as a starting point for planning a trip that combines historic buildings, pilgrimage routes, river meadows and hilly landscapes without conflating the individual character of the various places and trail sections.

Other destinations nearby

If you would like to add more places to your travel plans, you can find Arcigliano, Cireglio, Ponte Nuovo, Bottegone, Piastre, Sarripoli, Piteccio and Santomato here.

For the higher-level travel overview: Pistoia.