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 The Castle of Oliveto is a fortified villa built in the XV century by the wealthy Florentine family Pucci. They built it in order to protect their wide possessions, to use it as a refuge in times of insurrections and to have a country house where to relax. It is situated near the brook Pescaiola, which is a tributary of the river Elsa, few kilometres south-west of Castelfiorentino.
a The Castle of Oliveto was built in 1424 and it is one of the most beautiful villas in Tuscany. Situated on the top of a hill and protected by moats, walls and towers which are monuments of military and architectonic art, the Castle of Oliveto is surrounded by hills which are near the provincial road between Castelfiorentino and Certaldo. Its name derives from the luxuriant olive-groves which can be found round the hill, while the Castle is surrounded by closely-planted rows of cypresses and by a thick grove of ilexes and laurels which make the lanes cool and shadowy.
a One can find a lot of interesting architectonic motifs: the flat-topped battlements, four towers at the corners of the building, a small tower with a clock, the courtyard (with its mottled plastering which reminds us of the walls of the old houses of noble Florentine families), the gallery with four arches and the small chapel. |
 In the gallery there is a well. In the past it received rain-water and was also a refuge and an underground exit from the Castle. In fact under the well there is a vaulted underground passage that comes to an end downhill, east of the Castle. On top of the walls there is a passage from which you can have a panoramic view of the valley.Today the Castle of Oliveto is the heart of an important farm that covers 1120 hectares, of which 520 are occupied by cultivated land. So the farm includes a lot of woods in order to respect the natural environment, wild animals, ecosystems and the typical Tuscan landscape. About 600 hectares of the farm are used for hunting. |
 In fact you can see pheasants, hares, partridges, wild rabbits in woods and cultivated lands. This is a good example of how animals and modern farming can exist side by side. Most cultivated land is used to produce cereals, 25 hectares are occupied by vines and 15 hectares by olive-groves.
On the farm there is a cellar for grape-harvests. In fact we produce Chianti wine DOCG (about 530 hectolitres every season), white wine FGT (350 hectolitres), Vin Santo DOCG, which is fine dessert wine (21 hectolitres) and a very prestigious Rosso in barriques. This wine is produced with special grapes: they are picked out, then put in oaken butts where they stay 18 months. Then, the wine has to stay in bottles 12 months. |
 Besides being the centre of this farm, the Castle offers a lot of possibilities to tourists. In fact in the Castle you can find a peculiar restaurant where taste wines and eat some snacks that stress the taste and the fragrance of the wines. Small and large groups of tourists can have lunch or dinner in the Castle, then they can spend the day learning how to make pasta, or harvesting grapes or doing other activities. Moreover we can give dinner parties, Medieval and Renaissance parties, meetings (which take place in the halls of the Castle), wedding parties and so on.In the Castle there is a reception that takes care of ten apartments, that offer you the possibility of spending your holidays surrounded by the silence and the beauty of the Tuscan hills. You can practise several activities such as swimming (there are two swimming pools) and playing tennis, or you can hire bicycles or go on excursions.
Hystory In 1424 the Puccis, who were one of the most important noble families in Tuscany, gathered a lot of lands in Oliveto and built a very elegant country villa with towers, thick walls and moats for protection. |
 When the Castle was under construction, it was stormed by many bands of outlaws that roamed Valdelsa. It was occupied and then given back to the Puccis several times during the war between Siena and Florence (until 1480).
During the bloody war between the supporters of the Medici family (among whom were the Puccis) and the Florentine Republic, some cruel battles took place here. During one of these battles all the grown-ups of the Pucci family were killed, so that the family risked to die out. Fortunately one of their black woman-servants took a young boy and ran away through the underground passage, thus saving the issue of that noble family. After this heroic deed the servant was portrayed in the coats of arms of the Castle.
The Castle reminds us of old battles and of famous and important guests who enjoyed the marvellous landscape of Oliveto and the typical products of these hills such as olive oil and wine. |
 In fact in the hall of the castle you can see an epigraph that reminds us of Pope Paolo III Farnese's stay in Oliveto in 1541. Other important people stayed here: Lorenzo il Magnifico, Pope Leone X Medici and Pope Clemente VII Medici.
Around 1850 the Guicciardini family, who was an important and noble Florentine family, became the new owner of the Castle because Count Luigi Guicciardini had married Paolina Pucci. In 1828 the Castle was visited by the Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinando III and by his daughter the archduchess Maria Luisa.
In 1928 King Vittorio Emanuele III stayed at the Castle and in 1944 General Clark requisitioned the hall and transformed it into his headquarters. Today the Castle is the centre of a modern and efficient farm that produces wine and olive oil and that has improved the typical hospitality of the Castle. |
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