Holiday apartment in Paterno: Romanesque architecture, chapel art and ceramics

A holiday apartment in Paterno offers you a stay amid sacred architecture, rural scenery and artisanal ceramics. The main attractions are the Pieve di San Giovanni Battista, the Grangia Vallombrosana di Paterno and the Studio Ceramico Giusti. This gives you various focal points when planning your trip: history, frescoes, architecture, ceramics, as well as mountains and museums in the wider regional area.

Holiday apartment in Paterno between culture and landscape

The Pieve di San Giovanni Battista in Paterno is an example of Tuscan Romanesque architecture. At the same time, it is a rural church surrounded by greenery. This combination draws attention both to the building’s clear architectural language and to the tranquil landscape in which it stands.

Grangia Vallombrosana and its history

The Grangia Vallombrosana di Paterno also tells of shifting historical layers. In 1100, some lands located in Paterno were donated to the Badia di Vallombrosa; shortly afterwards, Paterno came fully into Vallombrosan possession. The grangia was rebuilt by the Vallombrosans in 1588 and extended along the road to Vallombrosa. During the Second World War, it was destroyed and later restored.

Chapel art with remarkable details

The chapel dedicated to Sant’Antonio Abate in the Grangia Vallombrosana di Paterno was embellished during the 1840 restoration with painted architectural representations and friezes. A fresco on the vault depicts the Virgin in Glory with angels; it was painted by Nicola Cianfanelli. The altar wall also features a trompe-l’œil perspective with an apse basin and Neo-Renaissance supraportes. Anyone interested in painting, spatial effects and historical details will find several different perspectives here.

Craftsmanship from Paterno

Another facet is represented by Studio Ceramico Giusti in the hamlet of Paterno in the municipality of Pelago. For more than 30 years, the studio has designed and produced entirely hand-thrown, worked and decorated ceramic items for the table and household. In this way, artisanal design complements the sacred and historical side of the place.

Mountains and regional cultural destinations

Poggio Stefanieri, a mountain, is located in the immediate vicinity of Paterno. The wider regional area also includes Monte Pianellaccio, Monte Moggio and Il Pratone, each of them a mountain. Also located there are Castello di Porciano, a castle, as well as the Museo Bandini, the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Firenze and the Museo Horne, each of them a museum. Depending on which topics you wish to explore during your stay, these different destinations give your plans either a cultural or a scenic focus.

Choose the right holiday apartment in Paterno

When choosing your holiday apartment in Paterno, you can therefore first decide which aspect of Paterno and its surroundings should shape your stay: the Romanesque Pieve, the richly detailed grangia, the chapel art, handmade ceramics, or mountains and museums in the wider regional area. This allows you to align your accommodation with your own interests without reducing the place to a single travel image.

Further places for your trip planning

Further places you can consider when planning your trip: Consuma, Borselli.

For the overarching travel overview: Pelago.