San Giovanni Valdarno
San Giovanni Valdarno is a town in the province of Arezzo, set along the Arno river in the heart of the Upper Valdarno
Updated 21 July 2026
This season · July · Summer
What to do in San Giovanni Valdarno now
The story
The story of San Giovanni Valdarno
Introduction and location
San Giovanni Valdarno lies in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany, along the course of the Arno river, in a flat area surrounded by cultivated hills. It belongs to the Upper Valdarno, a hinge area between Florence and Arezzo, well served by road and rail links. Its position, historically strategic for controlling the valley, made it a hub for trade and a point of reference for neighbouring towns. Today the town combines an orderly urban layout, a legacy of its medieval founding, with an active local economy, keeping a strong bond with the surrounding agricultural and hilly countryside.
History and origins
The town was founded by the Republic of Florence towards the end of the thirteenth century as one of the so-called Terre Nuove, planned settlements meant to garrison and organise the Valdarno territory. This origin explains the historic centre's distinctive regular layout, with orthogonal streets and a central porticoed square. In later centuries San Giovanni Valdarno grew into an agricultural and then industrial hub, linked in particular to lignite mining in the Valdarno basin. It is also the birthplace of the painter Masaccio, a key figure of Renaissance painting, whose memory is still strongly felt in the town's identity.
Nature and landscape
The municipal territory stretches between the course of the Arno and the first foothills of the Pratomagno, the mountain range that separates the Valdarno from the Casentino. The landscape alternates flat land planted with rows of vines and olive groves with more wooded hillsides, offering typical Tuscan countryside views close to the town centre. The proximity of the river and the hills makes the area suitable for walks and excursions towards nearby villages, while the Valdarno basin, once marked by mining activity, has now largely returned to nature, with trails that tell the story of the area's environmental transformation over the twentieth century.
What to do and see
The best way to get to know San Giovanni Valdarno is to walk through the historic centre, admiring the regular layout inherited from its Florentine founding and the porticoes of the main square. Worth seeing are the religious buildings that preserve works linked to Tuscan painting tradition, alongside the medieval fortification converted into a museum space devoted to contemporary sculpture. A dedicated route retraces places linked to Masaccio, while visitors interested in more recent history can explore the Valdarno's mining past through sites and traces scattered across the municipal territory, before heading towards the hills and nearby villages to complete the visit.
Flavours and traditions
The cuisine of San Giovanni Valdarno follows Tuscan rural tradition, based on extra virgin olive oil, unsalted bread, pulses and grilled meats, paired with wines produced on the Valdarno hills. Local markets offer produce from the area's olive groves and vegetable gardens, while trattorias in the centre serve simple, seasonal dishes. Proximity to Florence and Arezzo has long encouraged an exchange of culinary customs, but the foundation remains a rural economy that still shapes the hills and countryside around the town today.
Not to be missed
- The Cassero, a medieval fortress now home to a museum of Italian sculpture
- The Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie, an important place of worship in town
- The Collegiata di San Giovanni Battista, the historic centre's main church
- Piazza Cavour, with its porticoes and the regular Florentine medieval layout
- The trail dedicated to Masaccio, the Renaissance painter born in the town
To see
What to see in San Giovanni Valdarno
Routes · Trovido Route
