Badia a Passignano

An old monastery just an hour north of Vercenni, this dates back to the 12th Century, and is reminiscent of the monastery in the film The Name of The Rose. It was once a centre of theological, literary and scientific studies. In fact, in 1588 the astronomer Galileo taught mathematics here. Today you can marvel at the various 16th century frescoes before taking lunch at the nearby La Scuderia, restaurant. Follow that with a swim in the artificial lake that, although just a few minutes away, is quite hard to find so here are the directions. After Scuderia, take the first road on the right. This will take you, after about 500 metres, to a small bridge from where you have to drive off-road for 100 metres, then park the car, swim and relax. One word of warning: if there has been a significant drought (usually halfway through July and into August) the lake will be neither full nor pleasant so best ask a local how the weather has been.