Via di Piazzetta.
Probably the oldest core of the town, and from May the street of coloured umbrellas.
Via di Piazzetta is probably the oldest core of the town : around the sixteenth century the “castle” of Riparbella was nothing other than the Borgo. The houses along this street belonged to the Baldasserini family, with an olive mill attached.
A traveller’s account from the seventeenth century
Riparbella sits on a hill covered with rich olive groves, above the right bank of the Cecina. Climbing up from the eastern side, one first comes upon two Oratories, one dedicated to the Virgin, the other to San Celestino. The road then forks, and on the left appears the gate of the town, enclosed within a rather limited perimeter. A visitor, 1600s
The eastern side is today’s Via della Grotta, the road to Montescudaio; the fork is the area around the spring, and the road on the left is indeed Via di Piazzetta, which led to the town gate, towards the little square of the Orti.
Nine dilapidated houses
The houses along this street, owned by the Baldasserini family, made up the part of the town known as the “castle”: as recorded in the Fiumi&Fossi archive, around 1580 it consisted of nine dilapidated houses.
Today
From May the street is covered with coloured umbrellas hung overhead, and it has become one of the most recognisable images of the town. Climbing up, you reach Piazza della Madonna, where in 2020 Vincenzo Marano Esposito painted La Gioia , the first mural of La Collina delle Fiabe.
Old town, between Piazza della Madonna and the little square of the Orti.
Always accessible. The coloured umbrellas are put up from May.
The La Gioia mural is at the top of the street.
Texts by the Riparbella tourist office and the portal visitriparbella.com. Page updated July 2026.
