COLLE DI VAL  D' ELSA, a

town and episcopal see of Italy, in the province of Siena, 5 M. by rail S. of Poggibonsi, which is 16 m . N.W. of Siena . Pop . (1901) town 1987; commune 9879 . The old (upper) town (732 ft. above sea-level), contains the cathedral, dating from the 13th century, with a pulpit partly of this period; the facade has been modernized . There are also some old palaces of good architecture, and the old house where Arnolfo di Cambio, the first architect of the cathedral at Florence (1232–1301) was born . The lower town (46o ft.) contains glass-works; the paper and iron industries (the former as old as 1377) are less important .