Welcome to Chianti, Wine Region of Tuscany Introduction Situated between Florence and Siena there is a third city, known as Chianti. This third city is formed of castles, fortress, towers, farms, Romanesque churches, rectories and chapels. The vineyards in this picturesque part of Tuscany produce the grapes used in namesake Chianti and Chianti Classico: world-famous reds sold under the Gallo Nero (Black Cockerel/Rooster) trademark. It's a landscape where you'll encounter historic olive groves, honey-coloured stone farmhouses, dense forests, graceful Romanesque pievi (rural churches), handsome Renaissance villas and imposing stone castles built in the Middle Ages by Florentine and Sienese warlords. Though now part of the province of Siena, the southern section of Chianti (Chianti Senese) was once the stronghold of the Lega del Chianti, a military and administrative alliance within the city-state of Florence that comprised Castellina, Gaiole and Radda. Chianti’s northern part sits in the province of Florence (Chianti Fiorentino) and is a popular day trip from that city. The major wine and administrative centres are Greve in Chianti, Castellina in Chianti and Radda in Chianti. Extending from the river Arno in the north to the Ombrone in the south, thus between the two centres of Florence and Siena, the exact Chianti region is formed by a vast expanse of attractive gentle hills alternating with occasional areas of bare limestone, crossed by deep river valleys that, here and there, have created small flood plains (such as, for example, those made by the rivers Greve, Pesa and Elsa). The countryside is partly agricultural and partly wooded, verdant and skilfully cultivated by centuries of labour. This light, open landscape is perfectly bordered by soft slopes and the undulating profile of hills and mountains such as the delightful Chianti hills, reaching their greatest height with Monte San Michele (893 metres), and then extending down
Welcome to Chianti, Wine Region of Tuscany Introduction Situated between Florence and Siena there is a third city, known as Chianti. This third city is formed of castles, fortress, towers, farms, Romanesque churches, rectories and chapels. The vineyards in this picturesque part of Tuscany produce the grapes used in namesake Chianti and Chianti Classico: world-famous
