Places to see in ( Greve in Chianti - Italy )
Places to see in ( Greve in Chianti - Italy )
The main town in the Chianti Fiorentino, Greve is a hub of the local wine industry and has an amiable market-town air. It's not picturesque (most of the architecture is modern and unattractive), but it does boast an attractive, historic central square and a few notable businesses. The annual wine fair Expo del Chianti Classico is held in early September – if visiting at this time, book accommodation here and throughout the region well in advance.
Greve in Chianti is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy. It is located about 31 kilometres south of Florence and 42 kilometres north of Siena. Sitting in the Val di Greve, it is named for the small, fast-flowing river that runs through it, is the principal town in the Chianti wine district which stretches south of Florence to just north of Siena. Until recently it has been a quiet, almost bucolic town because it was, and still is, well off the main roads.
Even in ancient days Greve was not isolated because it was well-connected by secondary roads to the Via Volterrana and via Francigena. Nowadays, it is connected to the A1 superstrada between Florence and Rome and the main road between Florence and Siena. The old road network ensured easy access to Florence and to other places such as Figline where its tradesmen and farmers found ready markets for their goods and produce.
The site of Greve and the surrounding territory has been long settled, probably well before the Etruscans and then the Romans dominated the area. Historical documents of the 11th century refer to an ancient monastic settlement on a nearby hill, which is now called the hill of San Francesco. Before the Franciscans established their monastery in the 15th century, an earlier monastery dedicated to Santo Savi had already been built, and also a small hospital. Larger scale settlement occurred in the 13th and 14th centuries.
The Franciscan monastery is still at the heart of the old part of the city, as is the triangular main piazza, where a market has been running more or less continuously for centuries serving the nearby castle communities and hamlets.
The piazza is fronted by numerous medieval aged buildings, including the 11th century Chiesa Santa Croce which was rebuilt in 1325 after being burned to the ground, along with the rest of the town, by the Duke of Lucca, Castruccio Castracani. After further renovation, the church, which houses paintings of the school of Fra Angelico, now features a neo-classical façade. In the piazza there is also a monument to navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano, who was possibly born nearby, however more recent scholarly work places his birth at Lyon France.
In the frazione of Montefioralle is the church of Santo Stefano, with a late 13th-century Madonna with Child and a 15th-century Trinity and Saints. Also in the hamlet is a house which, according to the tradition, belonged to explorer Amerigo Vespucci. In the nearby is a Romanesque Pieve with narthexed façade and two mullioned windows.
At 2 kilometres (1 mile) from the centre of Greve is the castle of Verrazzano, sitting on a 348 metres (1,142 feet) high hill. Built probably by the Lombards, it was a possession of the explorer's family, and in the 17th century was turned into a villa. Of the 13th-century manor a tower remains.
In the neighbourhood of the frazione of Panzano is the Pieve of San Leolino, known from the 10th century. The interior houses a 13th-century panel by Meliore di Jacopo, a 15th-century polyptych by the so-called Master of Panzano, as well as works by Raffaellino del Garbo and Giovanni della Robbia.
( Greve in Chianti - Italy ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting Greve in Chianti . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Greve in Chianti - Italy
Join us for more :