BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANISATION
Certaldo is a Tuscan municipality with about 16,000 inhabitants, located in the province of Florence, bordering the province of Siena, in the centre of Tuscany, in an administrative area which is called Union of the Municipalities of Empolese Valdelsa District. Certaldo is the hometown of Giovanni Boccaccio, who is said, even though with no certainty, to have been born here, in the father's home (or probably in Florence). Sure he died here on December 21 1375, in the upper town, stunning sample of a medieval village still finely kept with a number of artistic and historical landmarks.
Praetorian Palace
It is the most representative monument of Certaldo, and it was the ancient home of the Earl Alberti, built around the end of the XII century on the ruins of the old houses owned by this family. Still today the jail, the hall of consultation, the archive, the chapel and the private lodgings of the Vicars can be visited.
On the façade and inside the palace there are many coats of arms, each representing the effigy of the family of any Vicar that lived and ruled here. Inside the Palace you can admire frescos and sinopie of the XV and XVI century.
Next to the Praetorian Palace, you can visit the Church of San Tommaso and Prospero, which dates back to the beginning of the XIII century. The church, deconsecrated today, is the venue of many cultural initiatives (conventions, concerts, exhibitions) and hosts the Tabernacle of the Executed (around 1464/65), frescoed by Benozzo Gozzoli and his collaborators.
Boccaccio's Home
Mostly rebuilt after WWII, Giovanni Boccaccio's home today is a museum dedicated to the great scholar of the XIV century. Inside is a large fresco of the poet by Pietro Benvenuti (1826), some rare samples of shoes of the XIV century found out during the restoration of the second post-war, and a specialized library in which many translations of Boccaccio's works are kept, besides many important texts of Italian and foreign critics.
In particular, the Decameron is translated into quite all world languages : French, English, German, Japanese, Arabic, Hebrew, Russian, Greek. This demonstrates the universal value of the work of this great poet. Moreover, the house is the seat of Giovanni Boccaccio National Association, which organizes interesting initiatives of scientific and didactic nature on the work of the novelist. The recent renovation, ended in December 2007, gave back to the house the access to the tower, which permits to have a view at the surrounding countryside, admire San Gimignano with its marvellous towers just nearby and reach far to the Tuscan Emilian Appennines till the Apuan Alps. Besides this, more rooms have been added to the museum of the life and work of Giovanni Boccaccio.
Museum of the nail
The museum of the nail is a prticular and amusing collection of nails of any shape, age, and for any use. Inside the museum are wood-working tools , anecdotes, stories and drawings related to the many crafts in which nails have a fundamental role. This collection was created over years and years of activity by the woodworker and artist Giancarlo Masini, who had his workshop in Certaldo Alto and was also story teller and designer. He was much appreciated by the artists of Mercantia.
The Golden Nail was created in his memory in 1994. It is a prize that every year is given to an artist who symbolizes the event. Masini died in 1997 and left his heritage to his wife Renata and the children Saverio and Daniela. The heritage has been hosted inside Palazzo Giannozzi by the Administrative authority since then. The museum can be visited during the ordinary opening hours of Certaldo Museum System, and represents another attraction which adds to Boccaccio's Home, the Holy Art Museum and the Praetorian Palace.
