The towns in the Valdelsa, also called the "Renaissance Lands", are in the province of Florence and they constitute a territory rich in history, art and nature that is also renowned for its production of precious wines, high-quality oil, truffles and any kind of agricultural products. It is set in a peculiar geographical position in Tuscany near the most important cities of art. Therefore, the Valdelsa can be the ideal starting point for visiting all the most appreciated tourism places in the region.

The Empolese Valdelsa Disctrict is also a municipal and political institution that was born in 1997 thanks to a regional law and it includes the towns of Capraia e Limite, Cerreto Guidi, Empoli, Montelupo Fiorentino and Vinci. It was instituted as a "homogeneous territorial district of administrative devolution" and it has functions similar to those of a province as well as other tasks that all the administrations of the towns decide to delegate to it.
The countryside mainly dominates the landscapes in the Valdelsa in an alternation between woods (where the cypress, a typical tree of the area stands out), sowable grounds and traditional cultivations such as vines and olive trees. The presence of ancient villages scattered everywhere complete this view. They have their original medieval urban characteristics and they testify the passage of ancient civilizations with remains and finds of the Etruscan-Roman times.
In the northern area of the district, there is the protected area of the Montalbano constituted of 16,000 hectares of lands that comprise olive groves, vineyards, chestnut woods and the settlements of the ancient Florentine countryside. More to the west, another important protected area can be visited, namely the Morass of Fucecchio. It is a marsh with a rich ornithological patrimony including almost two-hundred species of water birds. Some of them stop here during their migrations; others live here all the year round.
The Valdelsa is also a land with a great craft tradition. Since the Middle Ages, the production of pottery, earthenware and glass objects was very well rooted and it benefited from the abundance of clay along the Arno. This river also represented the ideal communication means for those tradesmen who wanted to transport their finished products to sell them in big cities such as Florence and Pisa. most of the growth of shops and factories, therefore, took place in the area of Montelupo Fiorentino, Capraia and Empoli.
In general, the activity of pottery production was the drive of Empoli and the Valdelsa's economy. Other professional figures were linked to it, such as lumberjacks, clay quarries, stone suppliers four colours, river carriers as well as numerous other figures linked to commerce, to the production or the improvement of products (flask menders, for instance).
Another typical art in the Valdelsa is the gilding of frames, the "successor" of the "foglia d'oro" medieval technique that carpenters have been passing down from generation to generation in the area of Certaldo, above all. The "Ceramics International Festival" and the show "La Torre del Vetro" are dedicated to craft production. These two events take place every year in Montelupo in June and July, respectively.