Gambassi Terme is a small Tuscan hill town between Florence and Siena, set among olive groves and copse-covered hills in the Valdelsa. The area has been inhabited since Neolithic times, and in the Middle Ages it was an important stop on the Via Francigena — the medieval pilgrimage route from Canterbury to Rome. The Romanesque parish church of Santa Maria a Chianni, just outside town, served those pilgrims.
The town's thermal springs have been valued for centuries. The waters of Pillo, rich in sodium bicarbonate and sulphate salts, are particularly recommended for digestive treatments and are available from April to October. A large public garden with centuries-old trees connects to the spa complex in the old centre.
The surrounding countryside is classic Tuscany — 60% of the territory is wooded, and the landscape of farm-castles, olive groves, and pine forests makes it good walking, cycling, and horse-riding country. A few kilometres away, the San Vivaldo Monastery is one of the most unusual sacred sites in Tuscany — a woodland complex of chapels reproducing Jerusalem's holy sites in miniature, with terracotta figures by the della Robbia school. Annual events include "Classica," a chamber music festival in June, and the "Mostra Mercato" antiques fair in the last week of August.