Wine Paths: Chianti region
Chianti, land of wine, art and History; the land of a thousand faces. A trip around Chianti may offer a tremendous number of interesting and charming alternatives for the smart tourist (i.e., a person in search of beatiful objects employing his/ her time wisely). Among them, there are several itineraries around the "pievi"(old parishes), farm, wine factories and even, as in the one are going to present castles. Chianti territory includes, in fact, some important castes (mostly open to visitors) which can easily be seen from the road. So, Let's take a closer look at them, with the proviso that we are only concerningourselves with some of them, while others that may be too small or little known, have not found the space they may deserve. There are a few essential books for all who may be interested in furhering this knowledge of Chianti castle and here are some titles we suggest : "Guide della Toscana", published by the newspaper "L'Unità"; "Chianti", a photographic and descriptive guidebook by Carlo Grassetti (published by Renzini); and "il bello della provincia", edited and published by Amministrazione Provinciale di Siena. We start our itinerary from the impressive CASTELLO DI MELETO, in the municipal territory of Gaiole; it can be reached from Florence though Statale 222, then after Panzano you must take the direction for Radda, Statale 408 until you arrive at the castle deviation. From Siena, however, it's all straight down Statale 408. Meleto was one of the stoutest and strongest Chianti League fortifications. It originally Belonged toCount Ugo, then it passed to Vallombrosani, and finally, in the XIII centrury, to the Firidolfi. In the 1500s the castle was doubled in size, and again in The XVIII century, under the control of the Ricasoli family, the manor, with its characteristic angular towers, underwent significant alterations which trasformed most of it into a villa; of the original construction only the theater remains with its Renaissance structure. Inside there are large room with gay frescoes and dainty little atriums. There are several legends surrounding this place, as for most casles. Most specifically, for example, a skull and a sword were found in a well a few years ago; this discovery lead to surmise that over the centuries enemies of the Meleto owners were thrown into this well. Today the castle can be visited, without danger, only by appointment; |
Itinerary of month
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