Local Attractions
Visitors to Barberino Designer Outlet can add a fantastic tour of the historical and natural context of the Mugello area and can get to Florence in half an hour or Bologna in less than one hour. All of this in a territory where the typical regional cuisine proposes incomparable flavours and fragrances.
Nelle vicinanze
Barberino and the Mugello area
The Mugello, so beloved by Lorenzo the Magnificent and by the humanists in his court (Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Marsilio Ficino, Politian), is a land whose beautiful landscapes, wealth of art and culture are still capable of enchanting. In Barberino, outlet visitors can admire the Palazzo Pretorio and the Loggia Medicea, the Castle of Cafaggiolo (splendid residence of the Magnificent) and the golden reflection of the Lake of Bilancino crossed on canoes, sailboats and windsurfers; a few kilometres away, at Vicchio, you can discover where Giotto was born and in Scarperia is the Mugello Circuit, where spectacular MotoGP races are held. The food and wine of the Mugello zone is full of typical local products, and can be enjoyed in the many restaurants or during summer festivals such as the Rennaissance festival of Scarperia, programmed for the first Sunday in September.
For more information visit: www.mugellotoscana.it
Florence “Cradle of the Rennaissance”
Listed as a “World Heritage Site”.
Barberino Designer Outlet visitors can reach the historical centre of Florence in just half an hour, to wander around the places that were witness to the work of the finest artists of all time.
From the piazza of the Duomo, with the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore – with Giotto’s Campanile adjoining it and St. John the Baptist’s baptistery facing it, continue in a northerly direction to arrive at the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi di Michelozzo and the Basilica of San Lorenzo di Brunelleschi, which is home to Donatello and Michelangelo’s precious sacristies. Going on further is the San Marco museum, with masterpieces by Fra Angelo, and the Accademia Art Gallery that amongst its many works is also home to Michelangelo’s David and piazza Santissima Annunziata with Brunelleschi’s Loggiato degli Innocenti hospital. < br />
The political and cultural centre of Florence is located south of the Duomo with Palazzo Vecchio and the Galleria degli Uffizi, with the Museum of Bargello and the Basilica di Santa Croce nearby. Cross Ponte Vecchio to get to the Oltrarno quarter, with Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli gardens. Still in Oltrarno, a must see are the Basilicas of Santo Spirito by Filippo Brunelleschi and of Carmine, with frescoes by Masolino, Masaccio and Filippino Lippi.
The imposing Palazzo Strozzi and the basilica of Santa Maria Novella, whose façade was designed by Leon Battista Alberti, lie to the west of the Duomo. The historical centre can be appreciated in its entirety from Forte Belvedere, from Piazzale Michelangelo and from the hill of Fiesole that provides one of the most suggestive views.
For more information visit: www.turismo.intoscana.it
Bologna “European city”
Bologna, the splendid capital of the Emilia Romagna region is just one hour away from Barberino Designer Outlet.
Originally Bologna was Etruscan, then Gallic, and in the end a Roman colony and municipality. During the Middle Ages, the city was established as a free commune and reached the peak of its power in the 13th century.
Its suggestive historical centre is one of the best conserved in Europe; ancient palazzos and churches stand there full of works of art that testify to the cultural importance of Bologna over the centuries. The first university in the world was constructed within its walls in the 11th century.
Almost 40 kilometres of porticoes decorate the city streets, so you can visit on foot without a problem, taking in the many aspects of city life, do some shopping, enjoy the local food and wine and allow yourself to be charmed by a multiform world that is culturally and economically at a European level.
For more information visit: iat.comune.bologna.it/IAT/IAT.nsf
Lucca “the city of the one hundred churches”
From Barberino Designer Outlet in less than an hour you can get to Lucca, famous for its town walls and for its historical centre that has remained intact over the centuries.
The thing that strikes you about the historical centre is the extraordinary beauty of the Cathedral of St Martin and the churches of San Michele and San Frediano, of the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, constructed on the ruins of the ancient Roman amphitheatre, of the Guinigi Towers, which stands out for its hanging garden of oaks.
The zones near the city are also full of unexpected evocations: Borgo a Mozzano and its Ponte della Maddalena, known as the “Devil’s Bridge”; Bagni di Lucca, popular spa town and Altopascio, famous for its bread.
For more information visit: www.luccatourist.it
San Gimignano
Listed as a “World Heritage Site”
One hour from Barberino Designer Outlet, in Val d’Elsa halfway between Florence and Siena, sitting on a lush green hill, is one of the most unique historical centres in the world. San Gimignano, medieval city enclosed by the 13th century walls, with its unmistakeable skyline formed of fifteen ancient towers soaring towards the sky.
All the buildings in this medieval town date back to the 13th and 14th centuries and have remained intact, so as you wander around the streets you can relive the atmosphere and traditions of the communes in the Middle Ages.
San Gimignano is a tourist favourite in Tuscany, and it offers tourists local, artisan products as well as a very fine olive oil and “Vernaccia di San Gimignano”, one of the finest DOC white wines in Italy.
For more information: www.comune.sangimignano.si.it