Valdelsa

Valdelsa or Val d'Elsa is the valley of the river Elsa, in Tuscany, central Italy.

Other centers in the valley include Castelfiorentino, Certaldo, Colle di Val d'Elsa and San Miniato.

The Valdelsa was a center of the Etruscan civilization, as shown by a wide range of findings in the area, including several necropolises.

In the Middle Ages, it was crossed by the Via Francigena, a pilgrimage road connecting France and Northern Europe to Rome, and therefore saw an economic and religious development.

Under the Medici, the economic role of Valdelsa lost importance, since the rulers of Florence exploited it as a merely agricultural area.