Not far from here, over the hills of Montalbano, lays the little town of Vinci whose no small merit is to have been the birthpalce of Leonardo. The town, which is in the sunny side of the hill, is surrounded by viniards and olive tree orchards. You reach it through a winding road which is part of the popular bicicle tour that starts in Florence, follows the river Arno to Empoli, then goes over the hill at Vinci, reaches the town of Pistoia and finally turns back toward Florence. For this reason the road is always crowded with groups of ciclists of all ages, dressed in their traditional way, talking to each other and, probably,
dreaming of fantastic deeds.
Vinci is a small town with a restaurant, a medieval tower, a house of Leonardo and a museum where you can admire the models he drew.

Naturally the visit to Vinci is a coltural trip into Leonardo's mind, a scientist before the use
of mathematics, and the artist whose values and interests well illustrate the Renaissance
period.
All this will start making more sense to you if you take some time and stop to sip a bit of local wine while admiring the valley. Who needs heaven if this "valley of tears" looks like this one!