Sagginale: Sieve Route, Church Art and Tortelli

Sagginale offers three distinct points of interest for planning a trip: the ecotourism route along the River Sieve, the Chiesa della Sacra Famiglia and the traditional Sagra del Tortello. These offer different ways to spend your time, from outdoor activity to architecture and art, or a festival. Depending on whether you would rather spend your days following a route, exploring cultural details or attending an event, you will get a different perspective on the village.

Walking or cycling along the Sieve

In Sagginale, the ecotourism route along the River Sieve crosses the Ponte di Annibale and then continues along the old municipal road towards Vicchio. In the section near Sagginale, it follows a riverside path around a bend in the Sieve; several streams are crossed via wooden footbridges. The local route description therefore includes both a specific direction and a riverside section with several crossings.

The route can be travelled on foot, by city bike or by mountain bike. This gives you a choice between walking and cycling when planning your trip. If you want to cycle, you can choose between a city bike and a mountain bike; the route is also suitable for walking.

Church: architecture and artworks

The present-day Chiesa della Sacra Famiglia in Sagginale was built in 2015 to a design by architect Giuseppe Ulivi. It has a rectangular, gabled form. The building is faced with brick and Cotto, while the east wall is made of roughly worked stone. The form and materials are two distinct features of its exterior design.

Inside, there is a large onyx wall in the apse and a small altar made of Pietra serena. The furnishings also include a tabernacle dating from 1528, from the late period of Giovanni della Robbia’s workshop. A marble sculpture of the Holy Family is by Enrico Savelli. The furnishings therefore offer several points of reference: the materials, workshop affiliation and artist’s name help distinguish the individual works.

The dates also differ: the church building was constructed in 2015, while the tabernacle dates from 1528. For cultural context, you can consider the building and the artwork as examples from different periods.

A chapel with links to travellers

Sagginale is a small hamlet of Borgo San Lorenzo. Until the 1960s, there was no church there, only a chapel. It had developed from a hospice for travellers dedicated to Saint Blaise, at the bridge over the Sieve. The history of the village thus links a religious site with a hospice that was dedicated to travellers and stood by the bridge.

Sagra del Tortello

The traditional Sagra del Tortello takes place on Sagginale’s sports ground. The food on offer includes traditional Mugello tortelli, as well as steaks and mixed grilled dishes.

When choosing your travel dates, it helps to distinguish between permanent features of the village and event dates: the route and the details about the church’s construction remain reliable reference points, while dates for future editions of the Sagra may vary. If you are planning your trip around the festival, check the date of the relevant edition. The food on offer may also change from one edition to the next.

Discover more destinations: Gricignano, Ronta, Faltona, Grezzano, Luco Mugello.

Return to the main travel overview: Borgo San Lorenzo.