Tuesday, June 13, 2023
Our first stop today was the medieval village of Radda in Chianti. It had been inhabited since the 9th century. It was built as a fortified town to protect Florence from its enemies. The last invasion was in 1478 and much of the town was destroyed including its castle. And of course Radda was famous for its wine!!!
The black rooster was a symbol of the Chianti region. The rooster was adopted as an official emblem by the League of Chianti (an anti-Siena political/military pact the united a league of rural towns. Radda in Chianti was on of them) in 1384 and was officially adopted by the Chianti Classic Wine Consortium in 2005! We saw the rooster symbol all over town.
The government building, the Palazzo del Podestà was destroyed in 1478 but was rebuilt. It was the town’s seat of power and was decorated with the family crests of the once-ruling nobles.
The Propositura di San Niccolò church had origins to at least the 1200’s. It was seriously damaged during WWII. The bell tower was reconstructed in the 1950’s and they used one of the ancient castle towers as its base. Its last renovation was 1969 and today it was being renovated but the entrance was still opened to visitors. This church was the main place of Catholic worship in Radda.
Late morning the rain cut loose and several went down into the medieval tunnel area of Radda. Of course we found a wine bar, Casa Poriciatti Enoteca, that was opened and we had a glass of Chianti while we waited for the rain to stop.
Walking around town and enjoying the narrow cobblestone streets. On a rainy day there weren’t many locals or tourists around.
Radda like all the other villages in Tuscany sat on a hill so the views looking out were beautiful, even on a cloudy, rainy day.
As we left the town of Radda the rain really cut loose! We even pulled over and waited for the rain to slow down.
When the rain let up we headed to the small town of Castellina. It was located on the main tourist route through Chianti. Our first stop was to find a restaurant for a late lunch. We found the Il Cantuccio Wine Bar. We enjoyed a good meal with Chianti wine from the region.
Boar meat was popular in the Chianti region. You would find Boar was a popular dish on many menus.
Castellina had a historic center and one main street. The Church of San Salvatore was located in Castellina. It was medieval and rebuilt in the Romanesque Revival style because it was heavily damaged in WWII.
In the central piazza of Castellina was a 14th century fortress and tower.
The vaulted alley was called the Via della Volte and it was once part of the city walls.
After the rain stopped we walked around the town.
After visiting Radda and Castellina we headed back to Torraccia di Chiusi, our B&B, for the evening. Dinner was inside because of the wet weather.
Even though it rained off and on it didn’t stop us from having a wonderful day in Tuscany.
