| | Facilities within the Property |
 Convento di Sandetole is a reception centre, an ideal place for short breaks, longer holidays, ceremonies, receptions, religious events, seminars and conferences. The Convento di Sandetole's pleasant yet functional environment, enables staff to offer services that satisfy all demands. There is a fully-equiped Conference Room, with capacity of up to 100/120 people, and a Meeting Room that seats 35 people, ideal for smaller conferences, meetings, and training courses, Guest meals are served in the former Refectory. |
 There is also the Cloister, the TV room / Library, a lift (accessible to disabled people), the small intimate Chapel that welcomes all who wish to pray and meditate, ample car park, private wood, and a beautiful garden with gazebo, an excellent venue for an outside event.
It is open all year. |
| Property Facilities Summary: |  Congresses & Meetings | Facilities for Disabled | | Internet Point | Lift | | Meeting Room | Parking | | Restaurant | | | |
 Not far from Convento di Sandetole you can find:
Car itineraries among castles, villas, Romanesque churches and cellars;
The Oil Route;
Northwards - from Pontassieve to Londa (or viceversa);
The Routes of the Rufina and Pomino Chianti wines;
Pontassieve and the valley of the stream Sieci;
The Sieve Valley;
From Rufina to Montefiesole;
Tour of the major farms.
Walking Trips
The National Park of Foreste Casentinesi
Established in 1993, the "Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona e Campigna" covers an area of over 36000 hectares, straddling between Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna.
The park
The park comprises natural environments and planted forests, among the most important on the Apennines. There are several zones, according the different level of protection:
Zone A: integral reserve
Zone B: the only activities than can be carried out are meant to the improvement of the existing ecosystems and the preservation of the natural and cultivation equilibria
Zone C: preservation of the natural equilibria and their improvements in terms of better environmental standards
Zone D: built-up areas and their future developments.
The Visitor Centres
From the Florentine side, the easiest way to access the Park, is through the two gateways at Londa and Castagno d'Andrea (San Godenzo). In these two villages as many Visitor Centres have been created, introducing tourists into the history and environment of the Park:
1. LONDA (3 Km from Convento di Sandetole)
This Centre shows the way the landscapes and the territory have been changed by both man and natural forces
2. CASTAGNO D'ANDREA (19 Km from Convento di Sandetole)
This Centre focuses on Mount Falterona, the main peak of the Park and its influence upon the life of the people that have lived on its slopes for centuries.
Walking on the Monte Falterona
The area surrounding Monte Falterona has several points of interest, stemming from being a true alpine environment so close to Florence. Today it takes only a little longer than one hour to drive from Florence to Castagno d'Andrea, whereas once the same distance acted as a barrier between two totally different worlds: town and small hamlets, plain and mountains, wealth and poverty, culture and ignorance
The Acquacheta waterfalls
The trail leading to the beautiful Acquacheta waterfalls is one of the most interesting trips in the" Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona e Campigna".
Itineraries by bike
Cycling among chestnut trees and vines
The Mugello is crossed by a network of roads and lanes which are nearly always asphalted and with little traffic and which run along a road system laid out through the centuries. The seven itineraries proposed in the new publication of "Cycling amidst chestnut woods and vines"give the cyclist the opportunity to test himself on the mountain tracks to relax in the valley along the Sieve River, to face the up ward slopes that surround the hills. The landscape which surrounds the itineraries is always charming and varied: from cultivated plains to vines and olive groves on the hills, from thick beech forest to the majestic chestnut tree woods.
Other Places to Visit:
Dicomano 4 Km from Convento di Sandetole
The territory around the village of Dicomano represents the passage from the valley of the river Sieve and the Mugello, at the confluence between the river Sieve and the stream Comano. The porches on the sides of the main road downtown, testify the merchant origins of the village. The Romanesque Pieve di S. Maria overlooks the village, whereas the neoclassical oratory of S. Onofrio overlooks the first stretch of the old national road joining Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna. Another important community in this municipality is Contea, spreading out along the stream Moscia, with the convent of Sandetole. A true surprise to the visitor will be the valley of Corella, a true small paradise where the uproars of civilization seem unable to disturb us. For sure, these uproars did not disturb the Etruscans that, in the nearby village of Frascole, left vivid reminders, now brought to light by complex archaeological excavations. The sporting centre at Dicomano offers tennis courts, a race track and covered sports facilities. Both Dicomano and Contea have their own railway stations, from which Florence can be reached in only 47 or 43 minutes respectively....
Rufina 5 Km from Convento di Sandetole
The municipal territory reaches out over the hills East of the river Sieve, for centuries land of olive groves and, most of all, vineyards: Rufina, as a matter of fact, is also the name of an excellent type of Chianti. The town developed at the basis of Poggio Reale, a hillock set in a strategic position, where stands a beautiful villa, today seat of the Museo della Vite e del Vino (Museum of vine and wine). Along the opposite bank of the river, lies Montebonello, part of the municipality of Pontassieve.
Figline Val D'Arno 30 Km from Convento di Sandetole
Figline Valdarno, town in the center of the Florence, Arezzo, Siena triangle, is the ideal place to emerge oneself in typically Tuscan landscape and still be in easy reach of the region's main city centers. In recent years, the town has made significant improvements in its standard of living, thanks to the realization of ...
Londa 2 Km from Convento di Sandetole
The historical centre of Londa preserves the typical look of mountain villages, with houses standing one next to the other all around the main square. The nearby lake is well attended in the summer by tourists from Florence and is the natural backdrop for all the feasts and fairs that take place here.
On its shores, stands the Visitor Centre of the Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona e Campigna, that sees Londa as one of the two accesses from the Florentine side.
San Godenzo 14 Km from Convento di Sandetole
The municipality of San Godenzo is the real mountain village in our territory, with a total population of about 1200 living in several smaller communities:
San Godenzo, the administrative centre, developed through the centuries around the Abbey founded in 1029, nowadays the most relevant building in town;
Castagno d'Andrea, named after the painter Andrea del Castagno who was born here and was one of the leading painters of the Florentine Renaissance (see Andrea del Castagno Virtual Museum, 20 Km from Convento di Sandetole).
Castagno d'Andrea, with its Visitor Centre, is one of the recommended gateways to the National Park.
Casale, Ficciana, san Bavello, Castagneto, Petrognano, Caprile and Spaliena are smaller communities that maintaining their original rural atmosphere and integrity, excellent places for a relaxing holiday.
About a third of the municipal land lies within the Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona e Campigna.
Dozens are the waymarked paths and trails running through the park and are suitable for both hikers and and mountain bikers.
Besides, the Muraglione Pass, halfway between Florence and Forlė, joins Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, that is the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas and is a renowned meeting place for hundreds of motorcyclists from all over Europe.
Very renowned and populated by hikers are the scenographic Acquacheta Waterfalls and the mythical Mount Falterona, sacred to the Etruscans and father of the river Arno.
Pontassieve 12 Km from Convento di Sandetole
The municipality of Pontassieve lies on the shores of the river Arno, east of Florence. Its urban development took place on the valley floor, leaving the landscape of the surrounding hills untouched. The historical centre preserves the ruins of a high circular defence wall, built in the second half of the 14th century by the Florentine Republic, the Sansoni-Trombetta palace, the older original suburb where, a pleasant pedestrian area links the castle to the imposing bridge over the river Sieve. Opposite, on the other bank of the river Arno, is the Abbey of Rosano. |
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