Last updated: October 2026
One summer morning in July 2015, I set off round Fibbialla at 7am. Not because I’m a morning person. I’m really not. But by midday in July the sun up here roasts you like a chestnut, and I wanted to be home with a cold drink by then.
It was a good call. I chatted to some lovely locals, nearly got licked to death by a very friendly dog, and came home with a camera full of doors, flowers and stone steps.
Where is Fibbialla?
Fibbialla is one of the Dieci Castella, the ten old fortified villages of the Svizzera Pesciatina above Pescia. It sits at about 424 metres in the Val di Torbola, one of the little side valleys, and it’s one of the smallest of the ten. You can walk round the whole thing in the time it takes to drink a cappuccino. Slowly, mind.
For centuries it sat close to the old border between Lucca’s and Florence’s lands. Today it’s part of the comune of Pescia, and the most dramatic thing that happens is someone’s hydrangeas coming into flower.
San Michele, the church at the gate
The first thing you meet is the church of San Michele Arcangelo, which stands at the entrance to the village. It’s old. Really old. There are documents mentioning it in 988 and 998, it was enlarged in Romanesque style in the twelfth century and again in the fifteenth, and the bell tower still keeps watch over the valley.
Stone, steps and flower pots
Then you’re in. Fibbialla is all narrow lanes, stone arches, steps that go somewhere and steps that seem to go nowhere at all. Every doorstep has a pot on it. Geraniums, hydrangeas, a lemon tree in a terracotta pot, herbs growing out of an old tin.
I love the little seats outside the doors. In the evening, people sit out and talk to whoever goes by. At 7am it was just me, the swallows and the dog.
The dog
I didn’t get his name. He came bounding down a set of steps, decided I was his new best friend, and gave me a thorough wash. Every time I crouched for a photo, there he was again. If you visit and a happy, scruffy dog appears, say ciao from me.
The girls approve
The girls have wandered round Fibbialla with me too. Matilda decided every step was a stage.
Tips for your wander
- Go early or late in summer. The light’s better and you won’t melt.
- Park outside the village and walk in. The lanes are not made for cars.
- Be nice. People live here. Say buongiorno, don’t peer through windows, and don’t sit on people’s doorstep seats unless invited.
- Combine it with Medicina, Aramo or Pietrabuona nearby, or make a day of all ten castella.
Visiting Fibbialla
Where: Val di Torbola, Svizzera Pesciatina, comune of Pescia (Pistoia province).
Altitude: about 424 m.
Getting there: a short drive from Pescia, heading up towards Pietrabuona and then into the Val di Torbola. There’s a local bus stop at Fibbialla, but buses are rare. More in my car-free guide.
Time needed: an hour is plenty, two if you stop for every flower pot like me.
You might also enjoy:
- Le Dieci Castella: a driving route through the Svizzera Pesciatina
- Visiting Tuscany without a car: the Pescia valley edition
- Lignana: the lost eleventh castle
Enjoy your day.
Susan
