What it was

As we have discovered in ancient documents now in the Archivio di Stato di Siena, Novelleto had already been built a thousand years ago: it is also named Novelleto alla strada, and strade (roads) were, according to the Roman tradition, the important, paved roads of the Roman Empire.

With no doubt, the farm was on the pilgrims’ road to Rome, the Via Francigena mapped out by Sygeric, archbishop of Canterbury, when he returned to England after his journey to Rome in 930.