Once you spend a week Under The Tuscan Sun, it'll be in your blood forever!

double click on this pic to enlarge

 Historically here in the United States, most of our towns originally started in the valleys near the rivers as we used the rivers to transport goods... But in Tuscany many of these "hilltowns" were founded on the hilltops over 1000 years ago... they did this for protection as there were a lot of wars; they built the villages on the hilltops so that they could see approaching enemies and surrounded it with massive stone walls...  It just kind of takes your breath away! 

So here's a typical hilltown in Chianti...  Here in this picture, you'll see the little hamlet of Volpaia (vul-pie-ah) in the foreground...  it is one of the closest little villages to the Villa... maybe a mile away "the way the crow flys..."   Or maybe i should say "the way the coo-koo bird flys..."  If you've never really heard a cuckoo bird, you're in for a treat... You'll probably wake up to their songs early in the morning at the Villa!  The vineyards and magical forests between Radda & Volpaia seem to be home to lots & lots of Cuckoo birds!

Much like Castello di Albola, the hillsides of the village of Volpaia are completely surrounded by vineyards and the whole village is dedicated to the production of the world class Castello di Volpaia Wines.  We'll have them on our wine bar at the Villa.   

Volpaia sits at approximately the same exact elevation (+/- 2000 ft) as the Villa , so you get an idea of the views from the Villa out over most all of Chianti... Volpaia was built in the 11th century as a fortified village on the Florence-Siena border.  Unlike Brolio, Meleto and other Chianti-area castles, Volpaia is a terra murata, a walled village. 

Although only part of the original protective walls and two of its six towers are still standing, the medieval layout and buildings within the village are still intact, making Volpaia one of the best-preserved villages of its period.  The first document that mentions the cultivation of vines in Volpaia dates back to 1172. In 1250, Volpaia was a founding member of the Lega del Chianti (Chianti League). The Florentine Republic formed the Lega by dividing its communities into three districts, Castellina, Radda and Giaole, allotting each a certain amount of territory. Volpaia was included in the League's Terziere di Radda. The territories were front-line garrison towns for Florence in the Florentine-Sienese wars. The emblem for the Chianti League was the Gallo Nero or Black Rooster — the current trademark for Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico.  This is indeed The Old World!

this will be you... setting on the terrace
at the Villa... having a glass of wine which 
comes from grapes grown all around you...
and you'll see Radda-in-Chianti setting out
there just like it is in this poster!

The Castello di Volpaia's logo features the coat of arms from the illustrious della Volpaia family, who lived in the village and took its name from the town itself. Lorenzo della Volpaia (1446–1512), an architect, goldsmith, mathematician and clockmaker, founded a Florentine dynasty of clockmakers and scientific-instrument makers that included his sons, Camillo, Benvenuto and Eufrosino, and nephew Girolamo. As clockmaker, he gained fame and honor with the construction of the Orologio dei Pianeti (Planetary Clock) in 1510. Lorenzo also built the clock at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. He was a friend of Leonardo da Vinci and often gave him advice on technical problems; Lorenzo even took part in the discussions on the placement of Michelangelo’s David. The della Volpaia family instruments are on display at the Science Museums in Florence and Greenwich, United Kingdom, the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence and the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.

If you look way out in the photo at the top of this post, just to the upper left, that's the Village of Radda-in-Chianti in the distant background at about 10 o'clock!  Radda-in-Chianti is what we like to call our "home-base" village... So from this perspective, our Villa (not visible in this pic) would sit just to the left of Volpaia one ridge over in the Chianti Hills equal distance between Radda & Volpaia and our Villa has views out over both of these villages... 

Often times, in the early morning when you come out to have your coffee on the Terrace, there will still be fog in the valleys, and you'll see these same hilltops and villages (in the photo) poking out thru the fog...  It's a post card view and it takes your breath away!

You'll be in The Bullseye!

What you can't see in this picture are the handful of other hilltowns on those far out ridges that you'll be able to see from the Terrace at the Villa... and what is truly spectacular, is seeing their lights in the distance at nighttime!   The Castello di Albola Estate basically sets in the very middle of the Chianti Classico, surrounded by so many of the famous Tuscan Hilltowns including Castellina-in-Chianti, Gaiole-in-Chianti, Greve, San Gimignano, Volterra, Florence, Panzano, Volpaia, Monteriggioni, Siena, Montefioralle, San Casciano, etc... the list goes on and on...

You will not be in some fringe area of Tuscany... We sought this area out decades ago; this is indeed The Bullseye... The very center of The Chianti Classico, in the very center of Chianti, in the very center of Tuscany!  This trip is gonna be spectacular, the views are gonna be amazing and you're gonna fall in love with Tuscany! 💓 You'll be seeing for yourself firsthand in just a few short weeks! 

here in this video you'll see Fabrizio, a local wine-shop & restaurant owner (Bar Dante) in Radda-in-Chianti (our home-base village) walking you around the Village and giving you a little history on why Radda is such an important village...  Radda is a small, quaint & totally charming medieval walled Tuscan Village... It is truly a town with a Butcher, a Baker, and a Candlestick maker!  You'll find yourself here over & over during your week with us in Tuscany! We think you'll fall in love with it just as we have!