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Villa Chigi Saracini, with its splendid gardens and large collection of statues dedicated to great
musicians. More about
Villa Chigi Saracini.
Villa di Geggiano (Villa Bianchi Bandinelli) and its gardens.
More about
Villa di Geggiano.
Villa di Monaciano, an 18 C villa with a beautiful English garden.
More about
Villa di Monaciano.
The Parish church of Saints Giusto e Clemente with a Madonna with
Child and the Angels by Giovanni di Paolo (1426)
Mediaeval
village of San Gusmè |
Romanesque
Parish Church at Pacina |
Pievasciata and the mediaeval village of San Gusmè. More about San Gusmè.
The Romanesque church Pieve a Pacina with its round bell tower.
More about Pieve a Pacina.
Abbadia d’Ombrone and Monastero d’Ombrone.
Abbadia d’Ombrone and Monastero d’Ombrone
The Certosa di Pontignano. More about the
Certosa
di Pontignano.
Vagliagli, a small village with a splendid view of the surrounding
countryside.
Castello dell’Aiola
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Villa
Aiola was built in 17 C on the ruins of the castle of the same
name, in a strategic position on the border between the territories of
Florence and Sienna. At the beginning of the 16 C, the castle was an important
Siennese rampart, and it could accommodate three or four hundred foot-soldiers.
At the end of the 1600s, the castle lost its miltary importance and became a farm. It is possible to
reach the villa over a drawbridge rebuilt over the now dry moat.
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Castello
dell’Aiola
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| From April 23, 2006, until November, 22 itineraries will be offered to visitors to the
Chianti zone of Castelnuovo Berardenga, where the commune is promoting its
“Sunday in Chianti” event. The program will include guided visits to unusual places, tastings and a card providing for discounts in the territory’s shops. The Touring Club Italiano (TCI) is co-sponsoring the event. It will be the second
annual round of tours of places that are usually closed to the public. The novelty this year is the possibility for participants, armed with a special card, to receive discounts in the shops of merchants subscribing to the initiative.
With regard to the places of greatest interest, they range from the Castello di Montalto to the
fortress of Montegiachi, the Villa Chigi Saracini, the Villa di
Geggiano, Badia a Monastero and the Church of Sant’Ansano at
Dòfana. More than 20 estates will offer the best of their production and stage tastings in their cellars. And on one of the itineraries there will be a tasting of the best pecorino cheeses of the Crete zone. The price is extremely attractive and within reach of all, only seven euros. A bus will leave at 9:15 a.m. each Sunday from the principal square in the historic center of Castelnuovo Berardenga (Piazza Marconi) and return at 1:30 p.m. The morning will be spent in an atmosphere of companionship and pleasure in the discovery of remarkable places. Reservations can now be made at the commune’s Tourism Office at
tel: 0577/355500 or the Tourism Service at tel: 0577/351302-335.
The
places to be visited and the programme for 2006
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History
of Castelnuovo Berardenga
The municipal territory of Castelnuovo Berardenga covers 177,03 sq km between the plain and the hills of the high valley of the river Ombrone. The original nucleus of the community goes back to the
16 C but its current structure dates from 1777 and the Leopoldine
reforms.
The district of Berardenga took its name from the noble Berardo, of
Frankish stock, who lived in the second half of the 10 C and was the descendant of a
certain Guinigi who had been Count of Sienna. With the desegregation of the Carolingian order and the consequent loss of
noble title, the family Berardenga managed, between the 10 C and the beginning of the
13 C to impose their lordship over a vast area of the eastern part of
the territories of Sienna, named Terra Berardinga for the first time in 1050. But from the middle of the
12 C, Sienna began to exercise an ever tighter control on the territory, which already, from the beginning of the 1200s, had been
under their administrative control, becoming Seat of a Bishop in the first years of the 1300s. It was only in 1366 that the
government of Sienna decided to construct a new castle in the centre in this important territory: Castelnuovo was thus born, destined to be the capital and economic mainstay of the Berardenga. The fortifications were finished quickly and the castle had just begun to take on its function when it
was assaulted by the Florentine army, captained by Giovanni Acuto
(1382). Other attempts were made by Florence to take Castelnuovo from
Sienna between the end of the 1400s and the beginning of the 1500s, but only in 1554 was this
accomplished, with the annexation of all the Sienna territories to the
Duchy of the Medici. Montaperti is in the municipality of Castelnuovo and was the theatre of the battle of 4 September 1260 which saw the victory of the
Sienna
Ghibellines over the Florentine troops and their
Guelph
allies.
Castelnuovo Berardenga
Grape Festival
Held
during the last week of September -
not to be missed!
This
is a tradition festival and among the most important and most
interesting taking place on Siennese territory due to the high
quality of the activities offered, both cultural and
oenogastonomic. The little town is transformed for the occasion
into a wonderful showcase that genuinely displays its traditions
and the connection between family life and the soil, nature,
beauty and the seasonal chores of the farmers.
During the festival there are numerous locations for tasting and
buying the typical products of the area, with special attention
to the excellent Chianti wine of the area.
The parade of allegorical carriages is a high point, with themes
derived from the countryside and the life of the farmers,
accompanied by men and women in traditional costumes.
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