Radda in Chianti

Radda in Chianti

Radda in Chianti

A place known for its evocative atmosphere and its marvelous landscapes

Radda in Chianti is a spectacular medieval village enclosed by massive defensive walls, located on top of the hill that divides the valleys of Arbia and Pesa.

To its typically medieval appearance, characterized by narrow streets and the classic tower buildings of the period, is added the traditional Tuscan charm of the local stone facades.

On the covered terrace of the Town Hall or the Palace of the Podestà, the walls are adorned with the shields of the various Podestas, with a legend to identify the various figures who exercised their power.

In front of the Palazzo del Podestà, the Propositura di San Niccolò stands out on the square with the fountain. Another interesting building is the Grand Duke’s icehouse: it was built with the specific purpose of being filled during the winter with snow, so that it formed ice, stored – then – in a cool place so that it could be used throughout the summer.

Turning around the town and following the cobblestone streets and the “medieval walkways”, you can breathe an atmosphere with a particularly quiet and evocative taste. Radda is a very active place, which offers many events including wine festivals, historical re-enactments and cultural activities.

Why should you visit Radda in Chianti

castles and fortifications have been converted into villas and homes

there are many craft shops where you can buy original souvenirs

From its location, it is possible to admire the 360-degree panorama thanks to the medieval walkways

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Gaiole in Chianti

Gaiole in Chianti

Gaiole in Chianti A market town for castles and surrounding areasGaiole in Chianti in the past was a city busy with local traffic, but after the end of the conflicts between Florence and Siena, it turned more towards agriculture, strengthening its position as a market...

Vertine

Vertine

Vertine Fortified oasis in the Chianti mountains Vertine is one of the best preserved examples of military architecture in Chianti and more precisely in the municipality of Gaiole. The excellent condition in which it is located today, especially the castle with its...

Barbischio

Barbischio

Barbischio More than an ancient Florentine defenseThe Castle of Barbischio dominates the village of Gaiole In Chianti. In 1200, together with the nearby Montegrossi, Vertine and Meleto, Barbischio was part of the Florentine defences of this area of Chianti, bordering...

Castellina in Chianti

Castellina in Chianti

Castellina in Chianti

Among woodlands, wildlife and Etruscan civilization

The picturesque village still maintains the quadrilateral shape typical of the ancient medieval fortifications. The main fortification and the heart of the town is the ancient fortress, designed in the second half of the fifteenth century by Giuliano da Sangallo. From its imposing 14th century tower you can admire the entire city and the surrounding countryside.

Inside the fortress are the offices of the municipality of Castellina and the Archaeological Museum of Chianti, where are exposed remains and important archaeological finds of the surroundings, testifying to the ancient origins of the Chianti region.

The museum is divided into three thematic areas and the artifacts on display belong mainly to the Bronze Age, Etruscan or are remains found in the ancient medieval structure of the city. There are also various testimonies of neighboring excavations, which make the museum a place suitable for all ages, even equipped with interactive learning tools.

Under the ancient walls, there is a charming underground tunnel, now known as the Via delle Volte, which houses shops, craft shops and restaurants, the tunnel runs around the city, enclosing from under the old town. It was once an open road, but when there was a need to expand the city, it was decided to build on this road, transforming it into a tunnel with a particular shape.

The Church of San Salvatore is certainly worth a visit. Rebuilt in 1945 after the devastation suffered during the Second World War, it still houses a remarkable fresco by Lorenzo Bicci representing the Virgin Mary with Child and a wooden statue from the Renaissance period.

3 tips for your visit to Castellina in Chianti

devotes a whole day to discovering Castellina and its historical and scenic beauty

choose comfortable clothing for your visit

complete the tour with a walk through the Sant’Agnese cypress grove

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Barbischio

Barbischio

Barbischio More than an ancient Florentine defenseThe Castle of Barbischio dominates the village of Gaiole In Chianti. In 1200, together with the nearby Montegrossi, Vertine and Meleto, Barbischio was part of the Florentine defences of this area of Chianti, bordering...

San Gusmé

San Gusmé

San Gusmé The classic landscape of Chianti Senese between vineyards, castles and farmsSan Gusmé is a small fortified village a few kilometres from Castelnuovo Berardenga. From the top of its hill dominates the valley below where on the horizon you can easily recognize...

Villa a Sesta

Villa a Sesta

Villa a Sesta A village of ancient origins and a thousand suggestionsIn the heart of the Chianti countryside, in a landscape where art, history and nature coexist, you come across a country of ancient origins and a thousand suggestions. Villa a Sesta is the typical...

Panzano in Chianti

Panzano in Chianti

Panzano in Chianti

Living in another era

The Via Chiantigiana is one of the most seductive streets of Chianti Classico. It winds through rolling hills, villages, castles and wineries where you can taste the famous DOC wine.

Panzano in Chianti is a quiet holiday resort located at 498 meters above sea level and is a hamlet of Greve in Chianti.

First of all, the castle of Panzano stands out, whose dating seems to date back to the eleventh century. Residence of the noble family Ricasoli Firidolfi, the castle was the scene throughout the Middle Ages of the clashes between Siena and Florence for control of the Chianti area, later also the internal struggles between guelfi and ghibellini that led to its partial destruction. Today we can admire the remains, among which stands out the ancient city walls preserved almost entirely.

Continuing through the village we find the Oratory of Sant’Eufrosino, the evangelizer of Chianti who lived and died in the area between the seventh and eighth centuries. According to tradition, the oratory was built right on his grave. The church has been rebuilt several times over the centuries.

The Sanctuary is a pilgrimage destination because of a spring located inside it, considered thaumaturgical and miraculous. It is a small temple consisting of two masonry columns and a sandstone lintel, inside which we find the source on which stands the bust of the saint. It is also evidence of the abundance of water that characterizes the area.

Why should you visit Panzano in Chianti

because it is a village on a human scale

because from its height it offers a breathtaking panorama

because the parish church of San Leonino is located close to the village

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San Gusmé

San Gusmé

San Gusmé The classic landscape of Chianti Senese between vineyards, castles and farmsSan Gusmé is a small fortified village a few kilometres from Castelnuovo Berardenga. From the top of its hill dominates the valley below where on the horizon you can easily recognize...

Villa a Sesta

Villa a Sesta

Villa a Sesta A village of ancient origins and a thousand suggestionsIn the heart of the Chianti countryside, in a landscape where art, history and nature coexist, you come across a country of ancient origins and a thousand suggestions. Villa a Sesta is the typical...

Greve in Chianti

Greve in Chianti

Greve in Chianti

A paradise for lovers of greenery

The history of Greve in Chianti is strongly connected with the beautiful Castle of Montefioralle, located above the city.

This small fortified village is a real jewel, where you will find yourself walking along narrow cobbled streets, between houses and stone walls that wind around the ancient castle, the original nucleus of the village. It offers extraordinary views and a breathtaking panorama. Here was born another famous explorer, Amerigo Vespucci.

His ancestral house is located along the main street, and is distinguishable only by the family crest, representing a wasp above the front door. In the center of Greve in Chianti is Piazza Matteotti: the main landmark of Greve and, although it is not a real “square”, is the focal point of the city.

What makes this place special (apart from its strange shape) is the portico that outlines three of the sides of the square, which serves as a “frame” for shops, craft shops and restaurants located under the arches.
Some of these shops are particularly famous: they attract the attention of both tourists and locals for their quality and diversity of offer.

Another building located on the square is the Palazzo del Comune, in Renaissance style; next to it, in the middle of the square, is the imposing statue of Giovanni da Verrazzano, a famous explorer who discovered Hudson Bay in New York and who was born just a few kilometers north of Greve. On the opposite side of the square to the town hall is the Church of Santa Croce, with its neo-classical facade.

A few steps from the church, there is also the Museum of Sacred Art, located in what was once the hospital of San Francesco, where you can admire the original altar of the adjoining oratory, characterized by a beautiful group of colored terracotta sculptures and other important masterpieces.

Another museum that every wine lover should visit is the Wine Museum.
Particularly interesting is the parish church of San Cresci, hidden in the landscape surrounding Greve.

Why I suggest you visit Greve in Chianti

because it has a special and alternative square

because it houses a museum of terracotta works

because just a few kilometres away is its jewel: Montefioralle

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Villa a Sesta

Villa a Sesta

Villa a Sesta A village of ancient origins and a thousand suggestionsIn the heart of the Chianti countryside, in a landscape where art, history and nature coexist, you come across a country of ancient origins and a thousand suggestions. Villa a Sesta is the typical...

Gaiole in Chianti

Gaiole in Chianti

Gaiole in Chianti

A market town for castles and surrounding areas

Gaiole in Chianti in the past was a city busy with local traffic, but after the end of the conflicts between Florence and Siena, it turned more towards agriculture, strengthening its position as a market town.

Thinking about this reality cannot fail to come to mind the powerful Ricasoli family that represented a kind of guideline in the growth and importance of the Chianti area and its flagship product namely wine. It’s possible to trace their bloodline back to the Firidolfi family, which then changed its name to Ricasoli.The constant rivalry between Florence and Siena made their many castles very vulnerable, which over the years have managed to be handed down and now adorn the vast landscape.

Gaiole in Chianti offers a panoramic preview of what were the battles for the conquest of local power, which dominated these lands for over one hundred years: from the Medici family to that of the Ricasoli, from the Guelphs to the Ghibellines and the continuous wars for the territorial supremacy between Florence and Siena. It was precisely these continuous conflicts that stimulated the construction of the fortified villages and castles with their numerous watchtowers that today we can all visit in the surrounding area, many of which have been transformed into beautiful accommodations for stays in Chianti.

But how did the winemaking tradition of Gaiole that led to the production of the famous Chianti Classico come about? Gaiole boasts of the largest winery in the Chianti Classico area: Brolio Castle, the same castle where Baron Bettino Ricasoli invented the Chianti formula in 1872. Excellent wines that vary according to the composition of the soil, the intensity of the sun and the rain.

Chianti, and in particular Gaiole, has been able to transform cycling into a cultural event. This is Eroica, now a cult event for the land of Chianti. It generally takes place on the first Sunday of October in conjunction with the traditional rite of harvesting.

Why should you visit Gaiole in Chianti

The Eroica was born in this small village

The Strada dei Castelli originated in Gaiole

there are many examples of religious architecture, such as parish churches and abbeys

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Vertine

Vertine

Vertine

Fortified oasis in the Chianti mountains

Vertine is one of the best preserved examples of military architecture in Chianti and more precisely in the municipality of Gaiole.

The excellent condition in which it is located today, especially the castle with its almost oval shape, most of the fortifications and many of the buildings located around a circle of avenues and open spaces, make it a more than interesting destination.

The origins of the castle are thought to be before the year 1000, but in the 12th century it became a feud of the Ricasoli family, and their residence during the two Aragonese wars (1452/1483), then commissioners in Chianti for the Republic. A strategic point and governmental seat of the Republic, it underwent a remarkable restoration in the 16th century.

Even in this fortified oasis since the sixties things have gradually changed as in the rest of agricultural Tuscany. In the 1950s, about six hundred people lived in Vertine and the surrounding farmhouses. It was fine, the main families were very few.

Towards the end of the 1980s, (but especially since the 1990s) people had chosen to move around for more interesting jobs. In addition to this, tourism has also changed in the new residents of the village, until then owners of second homes, but still culturally amateurs and connoisseurs of the place. Vertine is characterized and is characterized by being a place in constant change.

Why should you visit Vertine

it is a perfectly preserved ancient fortified village

it is located along the Strada dei Castelli

from here it is possible to admire an enchanting and changing panorama

Continue with the discovery of Chianti…

Panzano in Chianti

Panzano in Chianti

Panzano in Chianti Living in another eraThe Via Chiantigiana is one of the most seductive streets of Chianti Classico. It winds through rolling hills, villages, castles and wineries where you can taste the famous DOC wine. Panzano in Chianti is a quiet holiday resort...

Greve in Chianti

Greve in Chianti

Greve in Chianti A paradise for lovers of greenery The history of Greve in Chianti is strongly connected with the beautiful Castle of Montefioralle, located above the city. This small fortified village is a real jewel, where you will find yourself walking along narrow...

Gaiole in Chianti

Gaiole in Chianti

Gaiole in Chianti A market town for castles and surrounding areasGaiole in Chianti in the past was a city busy with local traffic, but after the end of the conflicts between Florence and Siena, it turned more towards agriculture, strengthening its position as a market...