Hello,
We will be in Florence for a while soon and decided to take a pottery throwing class one afternoon in Montelupo. I guess it's about 12 miles outside of Florence and can be reached by train in about 30 minutes.
I have 2 questions please:
1.) Is there much to do there besides the class we are taking if you've been there? I haven't heard much about it.
2.) Do I need to book these train tickets in advance to ensure we get them? I'm asking because I don't mind booking the one to get there in advance if needed but I was wondering about back to Florence since we didn't know how long we wanted to stay after the class. Thanks much!
Posted by
Northern New York
69 posts
Hi. Would this be the pottery experience with Matteo in Montelupo? If so, we participated in this experience a couple of years ago and Matteo and family were delightful. Visiting the factory was particularly interesting and then we made a small pottery object with Matteo’s father. Afterwards, we went to nice authentic restaurant for lunch that Matteo recommended. Montelupo is a very small town and we went back to Florence after lunch. I believe there are quite a few trains per day to choose from and the ride is only about twenty minutes. Very easy overall and gives a nice counter balance to Florence.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15188 posts
It’s a cute town with lots of artistic ceramic shops. I’ve taken my wife there many times since she likes to buy that stuff. I’ve always driven there but all trains that go there are Regionali therefore you don’t buy anything in advance. Just buy tickets when you go from Florence (even by app). It’s like taking a commuter train in America. If you buy a paper ticket you need to validate it (date stamp) before boarding, don’t forget or you’ll get fines. There are multiple trains every hour.
www.trenitalia.com
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Yes! This is with Matteo! I have always wanted to try doing it so what better place to try I figured. I'm so glad you found it to be a nice experience. Thank you for the information everyone. Our class isn't until 2:30 so possibly we will go a bit earlier and get some lunch there somewhere.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15188 posts
There is also a Museum of the Ceramic at the end of Corso Garibaldi (the street where most ceramic shops are). There is also a Medici Villa in town, but not sure you can visit it. It used to be a famous Psychiatric Hospital Prison for dangerous mentally ill inmates, so, if still operational, it may not be a good idea to visit.