Radda in
Chianti, to the east of the Chiantigiana route, has retained more of its ancient character
than most towns and villages of the area. It is located in the hills of Chianti, the Monti
del Chianti, and was once the seat of the mediaeval Lega di Chianti. This once powerful
league took the black cockerel, the Gallo Nero of all bottles of Chianti, as its symbol.
The significance of this dates to a border dispute between Siena and Florence, a dispute
that saw the border drawn at the point where a horseman from each city would meet on the
road. They were both to set out at the cock-crow, as indeed they did, except that the
Florentine cockerel had been starved, and woke to greet the day considerably earlier than
its Sienese counterpart. The town still retains the elliptical form it had in mediaeval
times, and the streets of the miniscule town centre are centred around the square, Piazza
Ferrucci. It is here you will find the Palazzo del Podesta, with frescoed decorations and
numerous ancient shields and crests, and the main church, raised on a platform directly
opposite the palace.
Radda in
Chianti, to the east of the Chiantigiana route, has retained more of its ancient character
than most towns and villages of the area. It is located in the hills of Chianti, the Monti
del Chianti, and was once the seat of the mediaeval Lega di Chianti. This once powerful
league took the black cockerel, the Gallo Nero of all bottles of Chianti, as its symbol.
The significance of this dates to a border dispute between Siena and Florence, a dispute
that saw the border drawn at the point where a horseman from each city would meet on the
road. They were both to set out at the cock-crow, as indeed they did, except that the
Florentine cockerel had been starved, and woke to greet the day considerably earlier than
its Sienese counterpart. The town still retains the elliptical form it had in mediaeval
times, and the streets of the miniscule town centre are centred around the square, Piazza
Ferrucci. It is here you will find the Palazzo del Podesta, with frescoed decorations and
numerous ancient shields and crests, and the main church, raised on a platform directly
opposite the palace.