While perusing the site of the Florence outlet mall, I became obsessed with a photo of a hilltown in this slide show (below the text):
http://www.themall.it/en/region

Can anybody identify the town? And, dare I ask, can we visit it on the way to the outlets?

Looks like Pitigliano to me. It is a fascinating and unique town, IMHO and one which I would urge you to visit. As to "on the way to the outlets" I doubt it. I don't remember it being close by but I might be wrong.

At first glance I thought it was Orte, but looked a little closer and agree it's Pitigliano. It's not on the way to any outlets, unless you count Rome as an outlet and would be about 2.5hrs drive from Florence, further south and west off the A1 from The Mall.

The Mall you've shown is 30mins drive south of Florence, just off the A1 Autostrada. There is another one to the north of the city on the A1 towards Bologna, as well as the Gucci and Prada outlets near to Florence. The Mall is newer and is huge, so if outlets are what you're looking for then this is it.

yep, another vote for Pitigliano.

there is a small pulling-in place on the road to/from the city where you can take photos just like this one - as I did.

a fascinating place, built of layers, like a trifle. as interesting in its way as Orvieto, but without the people.

reasonably near-by you can bathe for free in the natural warm springs of Saturnia and eat a fabulous meal in the nearby village of the same name - much more fun then any outlets, IMHO.

Would you settle for Loro Ciuffena? Different town, different history, but it is quite close to the malls and hardly anybody goes there. You might enjoy it.

http://www.tuscantreasures.net/valdarno/lorocpix.html

Wow, I'm impressed by everyone's prompt responses and your "name that town" skills. As noted, I have fallen in love with Pitiigliano, and Saturnia sounds excellent as well. But, as much as we love marathon drives in Europe, I'm not convinced it's the right day trip for us because of the distance. Has anyone done ventured to the deep South of Tuscany for one day from Florence?

We'll be in Florence for 6 days/6 nights visiting our son who's studying there.
Mr. Crosscheck and I have both visited Italy fairly often, but usually on business and haven't explored Tuscany. At some point we'll go back, rent a villa, and take the time to just tool around. But for this trip, on our one day out of town with our son and his friend, we're torn between the must-sees like San G and Siena, or something more off the beaten track.

And...as cool as Loro Ciuffena looks, I'm willing to forgo the mall, because it could be a nightmare with my husband and son.

I appreciate everyone's sage advice.

You don't need to venture to the "deep south of Tuscany" to see beautiful and largely undiscovered towns in Tuscany if you are staying near Florence. And you don't have to go to the mall to see Loro Ciuffena. (I'm not pushing you to see that town, just pointing out that Tuscany is jammed up with charming places to explore that most everybody ignores on the stampede to where everybody else goes.)

Without a car you can take the train to the spa town of Moneantini and ride the historic funivia up to its antique center:

http://www.tuscany-charming.it/IMAG/...unicolare3.gif

http://www.tuscaning.com/img/art/657...ntecatini3.jpg

or take a train to Pistoia, which has a castle in addition to being a lovely town tourists mysteriously don't visit:

http://www.albergo-bellavista.com/im...04pistoia1.gif

http://wanderingitaly.com/blog/images/366.jpg

And I hope you already know you can go to Lucca by train and rent a bike to ride around the walls

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_A8Zk2oqV5F...400/italy3.jpg

You don't say what your son is studying or what he and his friend and you all might enjoy, or what time of year this is, so hard to be more specific that that. Also, check ahead of time to see if you can rent a car for just one day, and remember that you will need to return it before the car rental office closes. Sometimes taking the train gives you more freedom.

Sorry for my typo! The first town I linked to is Montecantini Alta

ok-- time to pack it in.

it is -- and this really is the correct spelling -- Montecatini

I agree that it is Pitigliano. It matches a picture we took several years ago.
You might want to try to visit Montepulciano a lovely town in Southern Tuscany.

Thanks, everyone. We are going next week (mid-September). My son and his friend are studying Advanced Florence Nightlife, so they will probably sleep in the car while we look at the scenery. They want to get a photo in front of the Leaning Tower, so I think we might do a Pisa-Lucca-Pistoia/Montecantini loop, and I might drag my husband to the mall another day. But we will have a car, and we love insanely-long road trips in Europe, so Southern Tuscany is still a possibility.

hi crosscheck,

I just "cross-checked" [lol] on viamichelin.com and its suggested route from florence to Pitigliano on the A1 autostrada is 2 hours 34 minutes. probably too far for a day, but ok for an overnight if you'd consider it.

anyway, have a great trip, and i hope that you lever your DS out of his bed for at least part of it.

Thanks, annhig. I just ordered the Michelin map and will let you know if we make it to Pitigliano. Those who know me from the Asia and Africa boards are aware of my habit of tweaking/rebooking our international flights days before we depart.

This trip is no different. After a lengthy conversation with Flying Blue, we now have 7 nights/6 days in Florence, so there's more flexibility for road trips and visits to the mall...or not. One friend who rented a villa in Lucca said she bought some killer shoes at the Prada outlet for 110euros - but spent 380euros on a driver to take her there!