Spending a holiday at Borgo della Meliana
means breathing in the history of the place and the landscape; it is
thought that the original core was already present in 1200 on the Via
Francigena, the route of the Pilgrims, the most ancient hilltop route
between the Val d'Egola and the Val d'Elsa which connects the ancient
parish church of San Pietro e Paolo in Coiano and the parish church of
Santa Maria in Chianni located in Gambassi mentioned by Sigerio, the
Archibishop of Canterbury, in the diary of his pilgrimage to Rome in
994.
Bearing witness to an ancient settlement in the area of Borgo
della Meliana are the toponyms "San Michele" and
"San Michelino", today the names of two neighbouring
farm-houses, which suggest that there may have previously been a church
here, the same that is mentioned in archive documents of 1211 and which
still existed in 1500 as found on the Guelph Captains' maps of the
territory of the Castle of Gambassi.
Gambassi which was a glass-producing centre even before
Murano, preserves many memories of the past which are immersed in an
extraordinarily beautiful landscape and which can be explored along the
many suggestive routes of the area.
Going through these lands, like the pilgrims of times past, in
a short time the modern traveller can reach the towns of San Gimignano,
Siena, Florence, Pisa, Arezzo and Lucca, well known for their artistic
treasures where one is immersed in an atmosphere rich in history and
culture.