ARCHITECTURE + AIRBORNE European Travels: TOSCANA [SIENA,CASTELNUOVO BERARDENGA, RADDA IN CHIANTI, CASTELLINA IN CHANTI], ITALIA

October 24-25, 2015
See our other trip here
Tuscany…Our time living in Italy was winding down and we decided to spend a weekend in Tuscany. PJ had never been to Siena and I thought now would be the perfect time to go. I also wanted to show him Perugia, Gubbio and Assisi, some of my favorite places, but we didn't have enough time on this trip.

Some fun vini della toscana facts:
- There are 11 recognized DOCGs in Tuscany, with the Chianti zone being the largest classified wine region [split between the Chianti and Chianti Classico].
- Wines must be 80-100 percent Sangiovese to be considered a Chianti Classico.
- Vin Santo, Holy Wine, is made of Trebbiano and Malvasia. Once bottled, it is aged for three to twelve years in small barrels. It is considered a highly prized Italian dessert wine.
-The Sangiovese grape is known as Brunello when grown in Montalcino [south of the Chianti zone]. Brunello di Montalcino is expensive in the US, as we have learned since moving back, so get it while you are there!
-Super Tuscan wine can be 100% Sangiovese but it is more common to find it blended with two or more varietals [Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot or Syrah]

Che bella vista

We left early Saturday morning, racing the sun rise, and headed a few hours south to our first stop, Dievole winery [below]. The name Dievole comes from 'Dio Vuole" or "God willing". The vineyards opened in the 1980's, even though the Dievole name can be traced back to the 1000's, and the descendants of the array of owners can still be found working at the facility. The property also has a hotel, with a beautiful pool overlooking the olive trees and rolling hills. There is a small chapel and a nice tasting area with outdoor seating and an indoor bar area. We sat outside and had a taste of a few of their selections and then of course bought as much as we could, knowing that this would be our last trip down, for now. They served some snacks while we tasted, and the tasting itself was free upon buying a bottle [or several].

After some relaxation we headed to our next destination, Fattoria di Corsignano [below], which was unfortunately closed for lunch. Three years in and we still managed to forget about riposo, mamma mia! On to the next…

Fattoria di Corsignano

Next up was Siena [below], a relatively well preserved medieval city with beautiful Gothic and Renaissance buildings. The heart of the city is Il Campo, which is known for the famous Palio race. The Palio race [a horse race] is one of the most important events in Siena and is held on July 2nd and August 16th every year. I read that the Palio race in Siena was also shown in the James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace.

Piazza del Campo is also where the Roman forum used to be. Now one can find a fan-like brick paved piazza, which symbolizes the Madonna's cloak which shelters the city. It is also the former logo of the UT college of architecture and design!

The piazza is also home to the Palazzo Pubblico and Torre del Mangia. One can climb the 500+ step tower [I did back in 2008] where the top lends itself to beautiful views, especial looking back down over the piazza.

Fonte Gaia

After eating a nice lunch in the piazza, we headed out to see the Cathedral and walk the streets.

The Duomo [Siena Cathedral of Santa Maria] is gorgeous and while I don't have any interior photos to put on here, I highly recommend visiting the interior. The Cathedral was built between 1215-1263 and designed by Nicola Piasano. His son, Giovanni Pisano, drew the plans for the lower half of the West facade, but left the city due before completion due to creative differences. The Cathedral is built in the Tuscany Romanesque style with Gothic details and ornamentation.

Expansion of the original building was started in 1339; however, the Black Death hit the city and killed 4/5 of the population. The expansion was never completed but one can still find the half-finished walls of what were to be the Duomo Nuovo.

One of the most impressive features of the cathedral are the alternating stripes of white and black/greenish marble. The facade has accents of red marble as well. The black and white striped are thought to symbolize the black and white horses of the founders of the city - Senius and Aschius.

Next to the cathedral is a 77 meter tall bell tower, which was built in 1313 in the Romanesque style.

Siena Cathedral of Santa Maria

We spent some time walking through the street and stumbling into whatever sights that we could find. Getting lost and grabbing a caffè are the best ways to explore the city, in my opinion. Some other great places to check out are the Piccolomini Library and the National Art Gallery.

Piazza Salimbeni

Logge del Papa

Palazzo delle Papesse

Column with the famous
Sienese Wolf

Church of St. Christopher

Piazza Salimbeni

Loggia della Mercanzia

Tourist doggie!

The day was winding down and it was time for us to head to our hotel, Borgo Casato [below]. It is located to the east of Siena in a town called Castelnuovo Berardenga, set amongst the rolling hills, olive groves and grape vines. It was the perfect way to end the day; sitting with some Chianti Classico, overlooking the landscape with Reesey playing in the olive groves. After our aperitivo, we headed into the restaurant where we had a delicious homemade meal and some vino della casa. Era squisito!

The next morning we had a delicious breakfast at our hotel and headed on our way. We stopped briefly in a town called Castelnuovo Berardenga [below]; however, it was Sunday morning and it is Italy, so nothing was really open or happening in the earlier morning hours.

Castelnuovo Berardenga was built in 1366 as the "new castle". It had a strategic location near the border of the Sienese land. There are many castles and fortresses nearby which are also worth a visit, such as the Castle of Montalto, Villa Acerno, the Certosa of Pontignano, etc.

The first winery stop was at Ricasoli [below]. According to their website, Ricasoli is the oldest winery in Italy and the second oldest in the world. It is currently the largest winery in the Chianti Classico area. Above the tasting area is the Baron Castle, where Baron Bettino Ricasoli invented the Chianti formula in 1872. The castle is surrounded by 1200 hectares - 235 hectares are vineyards and 26 are olive groves. It was an impressive castle to drive up to, and the narrow, winding road that lead to the tasting area was quite nerve-racking, but it was worth it. One again, we stocked up the best that we could and headed out.

The next winery that we visited was much smaller and family run. It is also where we bought our coveted Vin Santo! Cantalici [below] was a great find and was worth the slight out of our way to get there. Not only did they take us on a full tour of their wine cellar, but they also put together a great tasting. Needless to say, we loved the wines and continued to add to our stock.

Our next stop on our drive home was a town called Radda in Chianti [below]. This is a beautiful medieval town that is enclosed with large defensive walls. It has been inhabited since the ninth century and was the headquarters of the Chianti League during Florentine control. Within the city there are many sights like the Palazzo del Podestà, the Church of San Niccolò [a Romanesque church], etc.

It is a great place to stop when casually driving through the Chianti area. We didn't stay for long, as we had one more place that we wanted to see before heading back to Vicenza. We did a quick walk-through, took in the sights, and headed out.

Reesey making friends

Our last stop for the day was in Castellina in Chianti [below]. I personally think that I liked Castellina a little more than Radda, but they were both beautiful places to visit. Castellina in Chianti is located at the crossroads of the Arbia, Elsa and Pesa valleys. It is also right along the road that connects Florence to Siena.

The city dates back to the Etruscan times and was destroyed many times throughout history due to the fighting between Florence and Siena. There is an underground tunnel along the ancient walls that is now home to shops and restaurants. Other things to see are the Chiesa di San Salvatore, which was rebuilt in 1945 after WWII due to damage and still holds a fresco by Lorenzo Bicci, and the Rocca di Castellina in Chianti.

This is also where we ate lunch. After exploring for a little while we sat down on the beautiful terrace of Taverna Squarcialupi to enjoy some delicious wine, cheese, meat and the view. The surrounding tables also enjoyed watching Reesey beg for a tiny bit of our meet and cheese.