Chianti Italy

Welcome to the Chianti, Italy, tourist information portal! Here we bring you an ever-changing selection of useful information about things to see, Chianti accommodations, Chianti sightseeing, where to stay and what to eat and drink in the wine region of Chianti Italy and the neighbouring areas of Tuscany, Italy.

Chianti, Italy, is the central part of the province of Tuscany in central Italy, located between the "art cities" of Florence to the north and Sienna to the south. Chianti provides an ideal base for visits to these cities and to Lucca and Pisa, as well as for exploring the towns, villages, castles and gardens of Tuscany. Beautiful accommodation is available in the towns and countryside of Chianti. You can expect to rent a comfortable village or rural self-catering apartment accommodation with a private swimming pool for less than the price of a hotel room in a city. In addition, there are rooms with and without breakfast available at wineries throughout Chianti, Italy.

"Chianti" can refer simply to a geographical area of Tuscany in Italy, or to the red wine produced from a quite large wine zone in Tuscany or to the wine produced in the Chianti Classico wine area which forms just a small part of the total Chianti wine zone. For visitors to Tuscany, the simplest and best way to think of Chianti, Italy, is as the area of vineyards, olive groves, cypress trees, forest, villages, villas and castles that fills an oval area extending from Florence in the north to Siena in the south. This area coincides near enough to the historical Chianti and to the Chianti Classico wine producing lands. It is divided into eight municipalities. From the north, these are Impruneta, San Casciano in Val di Pesa, Greve in Chianti, Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, Castellina in Chianti, Radda in Chianti, Gaiole in Chianti and Castelnuovo Berardenga.

• What kind of accommodation is available in Chianti, Italy? It's quite noteworthy that there are relatively few hotels in Chianti, in part because Chianti is a rural area with few towns of more than 10,000 inhabitants. Each the eight main towns has at least one hotel but visitors may well be tempted by the villa hotels in the countryside. These are historical villas that have been converted into boutique accommodation, usually preserving the characteristic features of the classic Tuscan villa. Farmhouses (case coloniche) are the main form of vacation rental accommodation in Chianti, Italy. Many websites and individuals refer to Chianti farmhouses as "villas" purely because they are stand-alone structures, but in fact Tuscan villas to rent are an entire separate category from farm houses. In addition, many Chianti farmhouses have been divided up into self-catering vacation rental apartments, and the final category are Bed and Breakfast rooms. B&Bs can be in the Chianti towns and villages but wineries also offer this form of accommodation. A separate classification that can be superimposed on villas, farmhouses, apartments and rooms, is basically the division between true Chianti agriturismi, meaning working farms (almost invariably wineries and/or olive oil producers), on the one hand, and all other rural holiday accommodation, on the other. There are a few Chianti farm stays where children will find farm animals to look at and sometimes to play with (e.g. Podere Tegline and Podere Barberino).

• What kind of transport is available in Chianti, Italy? There are radial bus networks, meaning that the buses connect Florence or Siena with the towns in their respective provinces, but less often connect the towns to one another. These buses are very comfortable but are essentially a service for taking workers and school children to their respective destinations, so that the timetables sometimes don't suit tourists (e.g. quite early last buses). There is no railway in Chianti. Bicycles and scooters can be hired but the best way of exploring the highways and byways of Chianti is by car. Rental cars are available in Florence and Siena but rarely or never in the Chianti towns. Click these links for further information on Chianti without a car and traffic violations in Tuscany. Minibuses driven by qualified guides are an excellent though expensive way to see a lot of Chianti with as little lost time as possible. Many of the guides have access to castles and the like that are not open to the general public and a tour can be combined with wine or olive oil tasting. As far as motoring for pleasure is concerned, Chianti is a paradise. Although there is heavy traffic at rush hour on the main routes into Florence and Siena, the country roads carry only light traffic for much of the day, although sometimes a large amount of bicycle traffic on weekends. The dirt back roads, the "strade bianche", that are so characteristic of the Chianti countryside, can be explored not only by car but also by bicycle and on foot, and provide a wonderful insight into life in rural Chianti. The Chiantigiana Highway (SR 222) running right down the middle of Chianti from Florence to Siena is on of the most enjoyable motoring routes in Tuscany and indeed in the whole of Italy.

• What are the main things to see and do in Chianti, Italy? As one would expect from an area with a rich three thousand year history, Chianti is packed with interest and each visitor should decide ahead of time on which aspects to concentrate. Obviously food and wine will rank high on the agenda of many visitors since both are excellent in Chianti. Don't miss a grilled steak alla fiorentina and a dish prepared with funghi porcini. Architecture buffs will find an endless variety of castles, villas, abbeys, churches, tower houses and vernacular architecture throughout the area. Many Chianti villages are still surrounded by their fortifications and preserve their mediaeval or even Roman layout. History enthusiasts will find many physical reminders of the great men of the past. The family home of Amerigo Vespucci is still standing, in Montefioralle, as are the castle of the Verazzano family, the house of Boccaccio in Certaldo and the Machiavelli family house at Sant'Andrea in Percussina, the site of Machiavelli's long exile from Florence. Paintings, sculpture and painted terracotta are to be found in almost every church in Chianti as well as in a number of Chianti museums which are well worth a brief visit when you are in the area. If formal gardens are your source of pleasure, Chianti and nearby areas are the location of numerous Tuscan villa gardens. As in all of Italy, the year in Chianti is punctuated by innumerable festivals and fairs. Some of these are amazingly well done, with almost the entire populations of towns and villages dressed in elaborate costumes and competing in dances, crossbow competitions and highly skilled horseback competitions. The major Tuscan festivals, fairs and historical re-enactments should on no account be missed if the opportunity presents itself.