Cosimo I de' Medici liked to hunt, and in the 1560s he had a villa built on a hilltop at Cerreto Guidi, on the edge of the marshes and woods west of Florence, where the game was plentiful. From the outside it is austere, a solid block of stone facing a square, but the approach is spectacular: a pair of great brick ramps, known as the Medici bridges, zigzag up to the entrance. The villa is part of the UNESCO listing of the Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany, and it holds a dark legend. Cosimo's daughter Isabella died here in 1576, and the story goes that she was murdered by her husband, Paolo Giordano Orsini, for her alleged infidelity. Whether it is true or not, it is told to every visitor.
The villa is surrounded by the Montalbano hills, a long ridge covered in vineyards, olive groves and woods, with stunning views over the Arno valley. Four kilometres away is Vinci, the village where Leonardo was born in 1452, with a museum dedicated to his inventions and the farmhouse at Anchiano where he is said to have been born. The countryside produces Chianti Montalbano wine and excellent olive oil.
The riding is superb. The roads that climb the Montalbano ridge, through villages like Vinci, Lamporecchio and San Baronto, are full of tight bends, steep gradients and panoramic views, and they are popular with cyclists, who use them for training. The surface is generally good, but there can be gravel on the smaller roads. Traffic is light, except on weekends, when Florentines head for the hills. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, with mild weather and glorious colours.
Cerreto Guidi is a small town with cafés and a few restaurants, and Lamporecchio, five kilometres away, and Empoli, a little further, have fuel and supermarkets. Lamporecchio is famous for brigidini, thin, crispy aniseed wafers sold at fairs throughout Tuscany. For a proper meal, try pappardelle with wild boar sauce, ribollita or a steak, grilled over wood, all washed down with a glass of local red if you are done for the day.