San Piero a Sieve is a small medieval village in the Mugello valley, about 30 kilometres north of Florence, sitting in the rolling Apennine foothills at the centre of an area closely tied to the Medici family. The Medici were native to the Mugello, and before they became the rulers of Florence they were lords here — a fact still written across the landscape in villas, castles, and convents bearing their patronage.
The village itself is modest, with a population of around four thousand, but it serves as a useful base for exploring some remarkable Medici-era architecture in the surrounding countryside. The Trebbio Castle, commissioned by Cosimo de' Medici and redesigned by Michelozzo Michelozzi on the ruins of a feudal tower, sits nearby and is open for guided visits on weekdays. Equally close is the Convento di Bosco ai Frati, a Franciscan monastery also rebuilt by Michelozzo for Cosimo — inside, a small museum holds a wooden crucifix attributed to Donatello. The sixteenth-century Fortezza di San Martino, built under Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, offers a footpath along its intact ramparts with views over the valley.
San Piero a Sieve is easy to reach from Florence by road. Visitors to the Mugello area often combine it with nearby Scarperia, known for its historic knives and the Autodromo del Mugello racing circuit, and Borgo San Lorenzo, the valley's main town.