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Artistic Treasures in the Pievi and Abbeys of Chianti



If you are packing your bags for a trip to Chianti, leave hurry at home and take a double amount of curiosity with you... It will be a real pleasure to drive along the dirt roads in the Chianti countryside at the discovery of the many treasures hidden in this corner of Tuscany! Particularly valuable are the "pievi" and abbeys scattered in the whole region.

In the past, the "pievi" - rural churches provided with a baptismal font dating back especially to the late Roman epoch - played a fundamental role in religious as well as non-religious life in the countryside, where the king or ruler exerted weak control. That is why they were usually built close to the houses of medieval bourgs or within the walls of the castles.

You can visit the Pieve of Santa Maria in Impruneta, those of San Donato in Mugnana and of San Cresci in Montefioralle, the elegant Pieve of San Leolino in Panzano, the severe Pieve of Sant`Eufrosino in Volpaia and the well-preserved Pieve of San Donato in Poggio... and list could go on and on! Some of them have maintained their original severe and linear Romanesque structure, and present one or three naves, beautiful apses and portals decorated with simple rose-windows. Others have been embellished or partially rebuilt in the course of the centuries; a few of them have even been plastered. Almost all of them house precious artistic treasures, including ancient wooden crucifixes, altarpieces and Renaissance paintings.

During your holidays in the Chianti region, you cannot miss a visit to the Abbey of Passignano - which was founded in 395 by the Archbishop of Florence -, with the nearby wine bar and winery belonging to the Antinori family, and the Vallombrosan monastery and the farm of the Abbey of Coltibuono (that is, good harvest). Two picturesque places, the visit of which will feast your eyes as well as your palate!

 

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