Set in the heart of the Valdelsa and caressed by the river that gives it its name, Colle di Val d’Elsa was founded in the Middle Ages on the border between Siena and Florence, at the centre of the struggle between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Raised to the rank of a city in 1592 following its designation as the seat of a bishop, its history is narrated in full in Colle Alta Musei, an integrated tour which begins with the San Pietro complex housing the Museo Civico e Diocesano, an ideal introduction to the city, before wending its way through the streets and alleys of Borgo di Santa Caterina and Borgo del Castello.