Celle sul Rigo – History, Pici and Trails

Celle sul Rigo combines a historic town layout, a culinary heritage passed down through generations, and trails through a landscape that can be explored in different ways. The town therefore offers both tangible traces of its past and opportunities for culinary and active days.

An unusual medieval layout

Celle sul Rigo has a regular layout of parallel and perpendicular streets. This arrangement is unusual for a medieval village and led to the theory that the town was laid out according to the model of a Roman castrum. Beneath Celle sul Rigo are caves that served as places of refuge during wartime and are now used as cellars.

Traces of the fortified town

In the upper part of Celle sul Rigo stands the medieval tower, regarded as the only significant surviving part of the fortified Castrum Cellis. This developed approximately between the 9th and 16th centuries. La Fattoria was added to the old walls of Celle sul Rigo between the 14th and 15th centuries. The building was originally the Palazzo Pretorio and was later converted into a farm by the Bocchi Bianchi family. The cistern and the adjoining piazza were also central elements of life in the town for a long time; references to them date back to 1610.

Church, art and literary remembrance

The present-day Church of San Paolo Converso has a 15th-century travertine portal that previously belonged to the old Church of Santa Elisabetta. Inside are murals depicting the “Mysteries of the Rosary.” Two other paintings show the marriage of Mary and Joseph and the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. Celle sul Rigo is also associated with the poet Giosuè Carducci: he stayed in the town from 1851 to 1855 and dedicated the sonnet “Sopra Celle” to it. A commemorative plaque on a façade marks the house where Carducci lived.

Pici and festivals in the village squares

The Pici from Celle sul Rigo are made exclusively by hand; the technique is passed down from generation to generation. The traditional sauce is Sugo all’aglione, prepared with local garlic, olive oil, chili pepper, preserved tomatoes and very little fresh tomato. The Sagra dei Pici takes place every year on the last weekend of May in Piazza Garibaldi. It began in 1969 and is still organized by the Società Filarmonica di Celle sul Rigo to support the local band. During the Palio del cacio, two or more players traditionally roll aged Pecorino weighing approximately 1 kg through the village streets. The event traditionally takes place in the morning of the last day of Carnival and is repeated on the second Sunday in August.

Routes, views and practical orientation

The San Casciano Active route network reaches Celle sul Rigo and the Via Francigena at Ponte a Rigo. The planned routes are laid out according to the standards of the Rete Escursionistica Toscana; routes are provided for walking, cycling and horseback riding.

The Il Rigo route begins just outside the historic center of Celle sul Rigo at Piazza Risorgimento. It offers views of the valley of the Rigo stream and toward Radicofani. Its course includes a crossing of the Rigo stream, which may be impassable in winter or after heavy rainfall. From Il Poggetto, the view opens southward toward the Val di Paglia, a river valley that has served as an important north–south connection since antiquity.

Further destinations for orientation

If you would like to compare more places for your travel planning, you can also find Fighine and Palazzone.

For the broader travel overview: San Casciano Dei Bagni.