Chianti @ Hiking Greve in Chianti
The zone of
Greve in Chianti offers a range of routes, stopovers, refreshment points, natural and artistic beauties, every single aspect of which is worth becoming acquainted with. For those who Intend to make a major commitment along footpaths and mule tracks where ancient routes and old fountains are encountered and one becomes aware of the presence of a small fauna in its natural inhabitat, the itinerary that leaves from the small medieval village of Ferrone and reaches the top of Monte San Michele at an altitude of 892 metres as., the highest peak in the
Chianti Mountains, is truly fascinating. From the centre of the village, a dug-out path winds towards a maquis that becomes always denser: this is the Poneta pinewood, one
Greve in Chianti
of the loveliest in
Chianti where in springtime broom fills the air with the fragrance of its yellow flowers. After leaving Poggio Mandorli and the smaller builtup area of Chiocchio, we enter the Barberino estate, where we will stop for a short while at the fountain of the same name, a formerly abandoned spring.A short descending stretch, and just after the Croce road we catch a glimpse of the historic medieval villages of Mugnana and Sezzate.The castle of the latter is located in a central position and, after skilful works of restoration, still preserves the ancient late-medieval structures. It was here that, in 1198, the treaty approving the birth of the Tuscan League was signed. At an altitude of 600 metres, in coincidence with the Rugliana cross-roads, the road continues and climbs, creating a direct route to Monte San Michele, the highest peak of these mountains. For the panoramic ridge over the valleys below, we have to cross the Sugame Pass, amid lovely pinewoods and a luxuriant underwood. Instead, our "classical" route makes a detour to Le Caselle, giving us the opportunity to admire the old Etruscan-Roman fountain from which a brief stretch of road departs. From the Lame estate, a short ascent leads us to the Castle of Uzzano.The dug-out road effortiessly passes by the entrance to
Greve in Chianti and once past the Zano estate, one of the programmed stop overs is San Cresci. From its knoll we can glimpse Colognole.
San Cresci in Greve in Chianti : the rediscovered jewel -
The parish church of San Cresci began to be mentioned in 948. Named for the saint and martyr Acrisius, popularly called Cresci, the parish church is part of a complex consisting of tie priest`s house, the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, the sacristy, and a farm house.The simple structure of the church consists of a central room ending with a presbytery consisting of four columns and six semi-columns that support a cupola formed of a vaulting cell. Today, very little remains of the original architectural structure: the date 1668, discovered on the architrave of one of the doors that open on the courtyard, can confirm a general systemisation of the entire complex, which was in fact realised during the second half of the 17th century. In 1966, lightning struck tie roof, and caused it to collapse. The already considerable damage was aggravated by tie subsequent rainfall, which freely penetrated inside the church from a breach opened in the roofing. The restorations, which were carried out by the Diocese with the advisory service of the Government Office for the Architectural Heritage and the general coordination of Professor Duccio Trassinelli, lasted until 1997. Restoration of the inside of the parish church enabled the discovery, underneath the 1854 plastering that had concealed them, twelve figures of saints arranged along the side walls and those of the presbytery. In 2003, the cellars and millstone pertinent to the farm house were in turn restored, and these produced several of the characteristic elements of the thousand-year-old rural tradition. From San Cresd,tie path continues towards the famous Abbey at Passignano, with brief stopovers at tie San Rocco spring and at the fountain ofPugliano.
Our hike, in coinddence witi tie Locaka II Casino and tie first San Rocco spring, detours over an Etruscan route and rises loan altitude tiat varies between 300 and 400 metres d.s.l. in tie direction of Montefioralle. Very ancient in origin, it was perhaps the first settlement in
Chianti and is considered tie first religious and administrative seat of the Etruscans in Val di Greve.
Montefioralle in Greve in Chianti: a window on the middle ages -
Once the theatre of centuries-old battles between Sena and
Florence for the supremacy over central Tuscany, the castle today is still inhabited and preserves intact its medieval townplanning. A walk among the tiny stone houses with vases at their windows is an authentic plunge into the Middle Ages - The only road, with its dean paving climbs up to the summit of the hillock, and then returns to the starting point Today, the powerful structure of the medieval keep is occupied by the small Gothic church of Santo Stefano, a building with a single nave that conserves one of the richest and most valuable artistic patrimonies in the area: a I3th-century panel of the Madonna and Child by an anonymous Florentine artist, among the best conserved in existence; a representation on a panel of the Holy Trinity, a 15th-century work attributed to Neri di Bicci; and a late I4th-century Annunciation of the Florentine school, perhaps by the same artist who painted the Straus Madonna and to whom the lovely polytych of the Madonna and Saints conserved in the Church of the Sacred Heart in Greti is also attributed.
Amerigo Vespucci a man of the renaissance - A modest building is traditionally indicated as the house of Amerigo Vespucci. America di ser Nastagio Vespucci, born in 1454, was an explorer, navigator, merchant, astrologer, and scholar, in addition to being the only person to give his name to a continent in short, a true Renaissance man. A point of interest regarding his illustrious family: the last of the Vespucds, Amerigo Di Cesare, is buried in the graveyard of Montefioralle.
"In 1875, the andent lineage of the discoverer of the NewWorld ended," recites the epigraph surmounted by an American eagle clutching the Vespucd coat of arms.
Once past the watercourse of Montefioralle, we can glimpse the fountain of La Lama: an ancient fountain, a stopping place between Greve and Montegonzi.
Prominent in this journey to discover the old fountains is the spring of Ragnolo, Continuing we reach Vignamaggio with its history and examples of renaissance architecture, the beautiful formal garden, and last but not least, the precious cultivation of vines and production of wine.Then, beyond the villa of the estate, the road climbs along a route that can be dated to Roman times and which crosses the castle of Lamole.The Roman road continues, skirting the mill stream and two small springs in the vicinity of the rare houses in Casole.The ancient route follows the watercourse of the Macconcini and the medieval village of San Michele, and then climbs -with a fair amount of difficult/ -to the peak of Monte San Michele.The Barbiere and Lavatoi fountains, with lovely enamelled terracottas, rise at the foot of a refreshment and reception structure. Several recent findings have demonstrated the existence of a Roman guard post, as garrison to theVia Cassia Adriana which used to cross Monte San Michele from the Sugame Pass. From the early years of the 20th century, the building of a large iron cross on a stone base was the signal of, the invitation to, a "destination" that today can be reached on horseback, by mountain bike, and... on foot But apart from the commitment required by hiking, the zone of Greve offers many possibilities for outings involving little athletic skill but rather an interest in things culinary, both as regards eating in the various trattorias and also as regard the purchasing of ingredients, above all oil, wine, meat, and processed pork products. The zone is completely studded with places making agroindustrial offers that are among the most predous in the entire region:irresistib\e restaurants, small shops, and luxurious butcher-shops at which it would be sheer madness not to schedule making a tasty stop-over. And also handicrafts in this zone are not to be underestimated: today, they are still highly developed and, in various fields, offer products of very high quality, as we shall see further on.
.... from `Greve in Chianti` ( Municipality of
Greve in Chianti )
