Impruneta is a town and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' of the

Metropolitan City of Florence The Metropolitan City of Florence () is an administrative division called metropolitan city in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Florence. It replaced the province of Florence. It was first created by the reform of local a ...

, in the Italian region of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

. The population is about 15,000.

Name and production

The name Impruneta is derived from ''inprunetis'' meaning "within the pine woods", and is known for its fine production of

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

. The terracotta is made from local clay, has a red-colored finish, and production includes everything from small tiles to large garden vases and statues.

Main sights

The most important feature of Impruneta is the Sanctuary of Santa Maria. The Basilica dates from 1060, being probably located over an ancient devotional site of Etruscan times (6th century BC). It was an important site of pilgrimage during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. The basilica was bombed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and now few of the original decorations can be seen. The façade is preceded by a portico by Gherardo Silvani (1634), built by the Florentine people as vow for the liberation from the plague, and by a

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

from the 13th century. The interior has a single

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

; artworks include a ''Nativity'' by Domenico Passignano and a ''Vocation of St. Peter'' by Jacopo da Empoli. The presbytery is flanked by two niches by Michelozzo decorated by Luca della Robbia, housing the relics of the Holy Cross and the Madonna's image to which the sanctuary is devoted and, which, according to tradition, was painted by St. Luke himself. The museum connected to the basilica is home to one of the oldest-known pieces of European patchwork, the so-called Impruneta Cushion, dating from the late 14th or early 15th centuries. The cushion belonged to Bishop Antonio degli Agli, priest in charge of Santa Maria dell'Impruneta from 1439 to his death in 1477, and was found in his

tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...

after the church was damaged by an Allied bomb in 1944. The current

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

's image is a heavy restoration by Ignazio Hugford from 1758. Also in Impruneta are the churches of San Lorenzo alle Rose and Santo Stefano a Pozzolatico.

Town saint

The town's saint is St. Luke and the saint's feast day on 18 October each year is the highlight of a week-long festival with a Palio featuring

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

a carnival and fireworks.

Twin towns

Impruneta is twinned with: *

Prachatice Prachatice (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservations, urban monumen ...

, Czech Republic * Bellerive-sur-Allier, France * Hadamar, Germany *

Pruszków Pruszków is a city in east-central Poland, capital of Pruszków County in the Masovian Voivodeship. Pruszków is located along the western edge of the Warsaw metropolitan area. Pruszków is the largest city in the Warsaw metropolitan area outs ...

, Poland

Notable residents

* Ermanno Picchi (1811–1856), composer, pedagogue and music critic * Alessandro Pieroni (1550–1607), architect and painter * Gustavo Uzielli (1839–1911), geologist, historian and scientist * Marco Masini (1964), singer-songwriter and pianist

References

External links

Official website

Official Tourist Website
{{Florence-geo-stub