Greve in Chianti - Historical Information
The magnificent village of
Greve in Chianti has very ancient origins which, from the end of the 13th century on, were a part of tie general movement of the populace from the hill villages towards the smoother plain areas where the new settlements can be considered as a natural development of the castles. During the course of the 13th and 14th centuries, the two castles of Montefioralle and Montegoni witnessed several crucial events:
Greve in Chianti
the former was no longer sufficient for housing the growing population, and the latter was destroyed during one of the many war campaigns waged by the Florentines against the powerful vassals of
Chianti It was thus that the built-up area of
Greve rose on the valley bottom of the torrent of the same name, which was subsequently enriched by other small fortified settlements such as Uzzano and Convertoie. But the further development of this place was also and above all due to the presence of a tributary of the Greve that abounded in water, the Montefioralle watercourse, and to the geographic position, since Greve is located at an equal distance from both
Florence and Siena, between the
Valdarno and the Valdelsa. This position favoured the development of trade to the point thai in tie earliest historic documents, it is referred to as the "
Mercatale [Marketplace] a Greve ".
This was because, in this reality, were united and offered the products from tie entire zone, which by then was rich in the fruits of the very fertile soil, as well as in products deriving from the raising of livestock that today are a source of pride for many butcher shops and restaurants. But despite the important gastronomic merits which marked a continuity down through many centuries, the "Mercatale" was to become the most important town in the valley only after the Unification of Italy (1861), with the assigning of the municipal offices to Greve.
...from `Greve in
Chianti ` ( Municipality of
Greve in Chianti )
