Hello there, if you were looking for another reason to learn Italian in Manchester… let’s talk: Italian wines, Tuscany and more specifically Chianti.
The Chianti area is famous for its hilly landscape which is among the most enchanting in this region thanks to the genuine charm of its vineyards and olive groves immersed in pure light and serenity. Sometimes, at dawn, a hazy mist wraps up the region and a dream-like atmosphere softens and enhances the view of the dark slender outlines of cypresses or of the domestic architecture of old Medieval villages and country villas. The true expression of the region is the Chianti wine, the well-known red wine appreciated all over the world.
HISTORY
The origin of the name “Chianti” is probably Etruscan. Documents are very fragmentary and this makes the reconstruction of the history quite difficult. It was the Etruscans who first left traces of their civilization. After the Etruscans, the Romans settled there and built fortresses.
The long-lasting struggle between Siena and Florence also involved this region. Both towns wanted to get control of the area. After ups and downs, the two cities signed a peace agreement in 1201 but the hostilities did not end soon. Only in 1859, after the Unification of Italy, Radda, Gaiole and Castellina came under control of Siena.
There is an interesting legend. To decide about the boundaries, the two towns established that at crock-crow two horse-men would start galloping and would stop only when meeting his rival. The town would become the owner of the land ridden across by its horse-man. The day before the race, the Florentine starved a black roster which crowed before dawn and woke up the knight much earlier than the Sienese one. Florence managed to annex the largest part of the Chianti.
