Collegiata di Sant'Andrea

The main church on Piazza Farinata degli Uberti, its facade a bold geometry of green and white marble in the Pisan Romanesque style. The church itself is largely Baroque on the inside, but what matters here is the Museo della Collegiata di Sant'Andrea attached to it — an unexpectedly rich collection of Renaissance art assembled from churches across the Valdelsa.

The museum holds works by Masolino da Panicale, Lorenzo Monaco, Filippino Lippi, and a terracotta by Mino da Fiesole. A Masolino pietà and a Lorenzo Monaco altarpiece are the highlights. Entry to the museum is a few euros and it is rarely crowded. The piazza itself, with its 13th-century fountain, is a pleasant place to sit after.

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A story
The green-and-white marble facade of Sant'Andrea is a direct imitation of the Florentine Baptistery, and it was built for the same reason: to signal that Empoli was a serious civic centre, not just a market town. The facade dates from 1093 and is one of the finest examples of Pisan Romanesque in Tuscany outside Pisa itself.

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