Empoli: Church Art, Glass History and Pontormo

Empoli brings together church art, urban history, glass and the memory of an important Tuscan artist within a compact thematic area. Those choosing accommodation based on cultural interests will find several distinct points of connection here, rather than just a single attraction. The direct selection also includes Osteria Bianca.

Church Art and the Historic Town Centre

Empoli’s historic centre is grouped around Piazza Farinata degli Uberti. From this urban focal point, the cultural orientation initially leads to the Museo della Collegiata di Sant’Andrea. It was founded in 1859 and is one of Italy’s oldest ecclesiastical museums. The museum preserves several masterpieces from the churches of the Empoli Piviere, dating from the 13th to the 17th century. Its focus therefore extends beyond a single era and connects different periods in the history of religious art. Another perspective on Empoli is offered by the Museo del vetro di Empoli. It is housed in the Magazzino del Sale, one of the city’s oldest buildings, whose construction dates back to 1365. The exhibition focuses on the glass industry, which strongly shaped Empoli’s cityscape and local economic development. This creates a clear contrast with church art in terms of cultural focus: the emphasis here is not on the furnishings of sacred spaces, but on a craft and economic sector that had a lasting influence on the city. The Museo Civico di Paleontologia broadens this museum focus to include the history of the Earth. It preserves and displays fossils and rocks from around the world, which together document the last 2 billion years of Earth’s history. Empoli thus makes it possible to combine different scales: the development of religious art, the history of a local industry and the far longer period of geological change.

Pontormo in Pontorme

A distinct cultural focus lies in Pontorme, a district of Empoli. This is where the Casa del Pontormo is located, commemorating Jacopo Carucci, who became known as Pontormo. He was born in Pontorme in 1494 and spent his youth there. This makes the place a specific point of reference for the painter’s biography, rather than merely a general stop in art history. The Casa del Pontormo uses the multimedia installation “Quiete, silenzio e solitudine” to present Pontormo’s biography and artistic development as an immersive experience. It also displays facsimiles of preparatory drawings for the Pala dei Santi Giovanni Evangelista e Michele Arcangelo. The biographical site, multimedia presentation and preparatory drawings thereby offer different approaches to Pontormo’s work side by side. The Grand Tour della Toscana in bicicletta - da Siena verso Pisa e Firenze route uses completed sections of the Ciclovia dell’Arno and passes through Empoli. For travel planning, this opens up an additional perspective on the town: Empoli appears not only as a cultural setting, but also as part of a larger Tuscan cycling route. The combination of the town centre, museums, connections to Pontormo and the cycling route brings different interests together in one destination. Other destinations in the same selection: Legri, Pian De' Cerri, San Godenzo, Gigliola, Ostina, Pelago.

For the overview of the wider journey: Florence.

More about the destination

Relevant information for planning your trip:

Empoli: Accommodation and Attractions - Travelling and Staying in Tuscany (Italy).