Discover Radda in Chianti

A concise introduction to Radda in Chianti, its geography, history and culture.

Introduction

Radda in Chianti is a comune of 1,431 inhabitants in the province of Siena, set on the hills that occupy the opening stretch of the valleys of the Arbia and the Pesa. The capoluogo stands at 535 metres — not the 600 often quoted — and the comune's 80.56 square kilometres run from 280 metres near Lucarelli to 845 metres at the summit of Monte Querciabella. The whole territory is inside Chianti Classico.

This was the capital of the Chianti, in the administrative sense. The Lega del Chianti, the political and military alliance the Republic of Florence created in 1384 to defend and administer the district on its behalf, had Radda as its capoluogo and was divided into the three terzieri of Radda, Gaiole and Castellina. Its arms were a black rooster on a gold field — the ancestor of the badge on every bottle of Chianti Classico.

The town is still shaped like the thing it was. The centre sits inside a partly surviving wall circuit, laid out along one main street with a small square where the Palazzo del Podestà and the parish church face each other. The palazzo housed the Capitano della Lega for four centuries and has been the town hall since 1865; fifty-one coats of arms of its podestà are walled into the front.

Beyond the walls the comune holds the fortified borgo of Volpaia, the Commenda di Sant'Eufrosino — a national monument and the most important piece of Renaissance architecture in the Chianti — and, in a convent below the town, the Casa Chianti Classico.

Geography

A ridge town at 535 metres where the Arbia and the Pesa valleys begin — not the 600 metres usually quoted.

Read the full geography guide →

History

Inhabited since 2000 BC, named in a diploma of Otto III in 1002, and capital of the Lega del Chianti until Pietro Leopoldo abolished it in 1774.

Read the full history guide →

Culture

Three elms on the town's arms, a black rooster on the League's, and a wine boundary drawn by a Medici in 1716.

Read the full culture guide →

How it was built and evolved over time

Alberese and sandstone, a wall circuit finished in the early 1500s, and the facade San Niccolò never had until 1926.

Read the full how it was built and evolved over time guide →

Climate patterns

Upland Chianti, measured at Montevarchi down in the Valdarno — so the winters here are colder than the figures.

Read the full climate patterns guide →

Frequently asked questions

Is Radda really at 600 metres?

No. The capoluogo is at 535 metres. The figure of 600 is widely repeated and wrong; the comune as a whole runs from 280 m near Lucarelli to 845 m at Monte Querciabella.

What was the Lega del Chianti, and why does Radda matter?

A political and military alliance created by the Republic of Florence in 1384 to defend and administer the Chianti. Radda was its capital, and it was divided into the three terzieri of Radda, Gaiole and Castellina. Its arms were a black rooster on gold, the ancestor of the Chianti Classico mark. It was abolished in 1774.

What are the coats of arms on the Palazzo del Podestà?

Those of the podestà who governed from the building: 51 in all — 3 from the fifteenth century, 25 from the sixteenth, 16 from the seventeenth and 7 from the eighteenth. Under the loggia are the arms of Francesco Ferrucci, podestà in 1527, and a sixteenth-century Florentine fresco.

Is the Palazzo del Podestà the town hall?

Yes — it has served as the town hall since 1865, after four centuries as the seat of the Capitano della Lega del Chianti.

What should I see outside the town?

Volpaia, a fortified borgo at 617 m with forty-nine residents, and the Commenda di Sant'Eufrosino inside it — built 1443–1460, a national monument since 1982, and the most important piece of Renaissance architecture in the Chianti.

Is there a museum?

The Casa Chianti Classico, in the eighteenth-century convent of Santa Maria al Prato below the centre: a sensory route through interactive rooms, a room for Chianti Classico DOP olive oil since 2022, and a permanent exhibition on the three hundred years since Cosimo de' Medici's edict of 1716. No booking is needed except for groups over ten.

Why are the wine cellars underground?

Because the town is small and old. Presses and cellars sit beneath Radda in deconsecrated churches and purpose-built rooms, linked by what the regional tourist board calls an unexpected subterranean vinoduct.

Can I drive into the centre?

Not freely — there is a limited-traffic zone, administered by the comune's Polizia Locale (0577 739622 / 739623, Monday to Saturday 08:30–13:30). Park outside and walk.

Verified against Wikipedia, October 2026.

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Sources & verification Covers the sourced claims on this page.

Checked against Wikipedia — The communal territory of Radda in Chianti extends for 80.56 square kilometres and is set on the hills that occupy the initial stretch of the valleys of the Arbia and the Pesa; the altitude runs from a minimum of 280 m above sea level near the settlement of Lucarelli to a maximum of 845 m at the summit of Monte Querciabella, and the capoluogo is placed at 535 m. The communal territory is entirely within Chianti Classico., The Lega del Chianti was a political and military alliance created by the Republic of Florence in 1384 with the mission of defending and administering the territory of the Chianti on the republic's behalf; around 1250 Florence had divided its territory into Leagues, and the territory of the Chianti had Radda in Chianti as its capoluogo, being so wide that it had to be subdivided into the three terzieri of Radda, Gaiole and Castellina. It was a league of rural communities called popoli, endowed with a statute of which the oldest dates to 1384, and for arms they had the image of a Black Rooster on a gold ground, an image which, subsequently partly modified, became the symbol of Chianti Classico wine. The league survived the end of the struggles between Florence and Siena and, transformed into a simple administrative division, was suppressed only in 1774 by Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo and divided into the three present comuni., Administratively Radda was the capoluogo of the Lega del Chianti, comprising the terzieri of Radda, Gaiole and Castellina; from the end of the 13th century it became the seat of a podesta appointed by the Florentines, and in the comunal statute of 1415 Radda was confirmed as the capoluogo of the League. Among the podesta of Radda, Francesco Ferrucci is to be noted., The Palazzo del Podesta of Radda was built in the Quattrocento and was almost completely destroyed in 1478 during the second Aragonese war; to the primitive building belongs the portico, which belongs to the manner of minor Florentine architecture of the early 15th century, while the first-floor windows belong to the post-1478 reconstruction, and the building was enlarged in the 18th century when the second floor and the prisons were made. In this palace the Capitano della Lega del Chianti had his seat for four centuries. On the main external facade are walled numerous coats of arms of the various podesta who succeeded one another over time; the arms are 51, of which 3 go back to the 15th century, 25 to the 16th, 16 to the 17th and 7 to the 18th. Under the loggia is conserved the coat of arms of Francesco Ferrucci, podesta in 1527, and a fresco of the Florentine school going back to the Cinquecento., Volpaia is a frazione of the comune of Radda in Chianti, in the province of Siena, a fortified borgo of medieval origin; the first document that mentions it was drawn up at Cintoia on 21 April 1172, attesting a loan secured on possessions situated in the curte et castello de Vulpaio., The church-tower dedicated to Sant'Eufrosino at Volpaia, commonly called La Commenda, was declared a National Monument in 1982; it was built between 1443 and 1460, its plan and structure are of the Quattrocento and of typically Michelozzian inspiration interpreted in a style close to that of Giuliano da Maiano, and until 1932, the year the church was deconsecrated, it held one of the most important works of Cosimo Rosselli, made in 1480., Radda in Chianti is an Italian comune of 1,431 inhabitants in the province of Siena, in Tuscany, and its patron is san Nicolo., The communal territory of Radda in Chianti extends for 80.56 square kilometres and is set on the hills that occupy the initial stretch of the valleys of the Arbia and the Pesa; the altitude runs from a minimum of 280 m above sea level near the settlement of Lucarelli to a maximum of 845 m at the summit of Monte Querciabella, and the capoluogo is placed at 535 m. The communal territory is entirely within Chianti Classico., The Lega del Chianti was a political and military alliance created by the Republic of Florence in 1384 with the mission of defending and administering the territory of the Chianti on the republic's behalf; around 1250 Florence had divided its territory into Leagues, and the territory of the Chianti had Radda in Chianti as its capoluogo, being so wide that it had to be subdivided into the three terzieri of Radda, Gaiole and Castellina. It was a league of rural communities called popoli, endowed with a statute of which the oldest dates to 1384, and for arms they had the image of a Black Rooster on a gold ground, an image which, subsequently partly modified, became the symbol of Chianti Classico wine. The league survived the end of the struggles between Florence and Siena and, transformed into a simple administrative division, was suppressed only in 1774 by Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo and divided into the three present comuni., Administratively Radda was the capoluogo of the Lega del Chianti, comprising the terzieri of Radda, Gaiole and Castellina; from the end of the 13th century it became the seat of a podesta appointed by the Florentines, and in the comunal statute of 1415 Radda was confirmed as the capoluogo of the League. Among the podesta of Radda, Francesco Ferrucci is to be noted., The built-up area of Radda is enclosed within a partly conserved wall circuit; the historic centre has an urban layout made up of a main street axis on which opens the small square faced by both the Palazzo del Podesta and the parish church, and from that main axis other minor streets depart which compose a ring. Because the urban layout of Radda has not known modifications over the centuries, its ordinary houses have kept their medieval structures, brought back to light only after the restorations carried out towards the end of the 20th century., The Palazzo del Podesta of Radda was built in the Quattrocento and was almost completely destroyed in 1478 during the second Aragonese war; to the primitive building belongs the portico, which belongs to the manner of minor Florentine architecture of the early 15th century, while the first-floor windows belong to the post-1478 reconstruction, and the building was enlarged in the 18th century when the second floor and the prisons were made. In this palace the Capitano della Lega del Chianti had his seat for four centuries. On the main external facade are walled numerous coats of arms of the various podesta who succeeded one another over time; the arms are 51, of which 3 go back to the 15th century, 25 to the 16th, 16 to the 17th and 7 to the 18th. Under the loggia is conserved the coat of arms of Francesco Ferrucci, podesta in 1527, and a fresco of the Florentine school going back to the Cinquecento., Volpaia is a frazione of the comune of Radda in Chianti, in the province of Siena, a fortified borgo of medieval origin; the first document that mentions it was drawn up at Cintoia on 21 April 1172, attesting a loan secured on possessions situated in the curte et castello de Vulpaio., The church-tower dedicated to Sant'Eufrosino at Volpaia, commonly called La Commenda, was declared a National Monument in 1982; it was built between 1443 and 1460, its plan and structure are of the Quattrocento and of typically Michelozzian inspiration interpreted in a style close to that of Giuliano da Maiano, and until 1932, the year the church was deconsecrated, it held one of the most important works of Cosimo Rosselli, made in 1480. (October 2026).
Checked against Visit Tuscany (Toscana Promozione Turistica) — The heart of Radda in Chianti, dominated by what remains of the castle, is Piazza Ferrucci, overlooked by the Palazzo del Podesta, which has served as the town hall since 1865, and by the parish church of San Niccolo with its neogothic facade; keen cyclists can take the permanent route of the Eroica, which follows dirt roads from the Chianti into the Crete Senesi and then the Val d'Orcia., At Radda in Chianti the whole town is involved in the production of wine and olive oil, and the wine presses and wineries are now often found underground, in deconsecrated churches, or in purpose-built places inside the town, linked by an unexpected subterranean vinoduct., The heart of Radda in Chianti, dominated by what remains of the castle, is Piazza Ferrucci, overlooked by the Palazzo del Podesta, which has served as the town hall since 1865, and by the parish church of San Niccolo with its neogothic facade; keen cyclists can take the permanent route of the Eroica, which follows dirt roads from the Chianti into the Crete Senesi and then the Val d'Orcia. (October 2026).
Checked against Casa Chianti Classico, Radda in Chianti — The sensory route of the Casa Chianti Classico takes visitors through interactive rooms with a glass of blind-tasted wine, and since 2022 includes a sensory room dedicated to Chianti Classico DOP extra virgin olive oil; it also carries a permanent exhibition reproposing the three hundred years of the history of the delimitation of the Chianti wine-growing zone, from Cosimo de' Medici's edict of 1716 to the present day, and a video room with views of the territory., The sensory route of the Casa Chianti Classico can be done on every opening day up to 30 minutes before closing time, and booking is not necessary except for large groups of more than 10 people., The Casa Chianti Classico has its seat in the heart of Tuscany, at Radda in Chianti, in the eighteenth-century convent of Santa Maria al Prato, at Circonvallazione Santa Maria 18, 53017 Radda in Chianti (SI), and offers in its restored rooms a bistrot, the Gallo Nero wine shop, a sensory and informative route dedicated to wine and to the history of Chianti Classico, exhibition spaces, wine courses, event spaces and cookery courses by booking, with a terrace over the Chianti hills, the friars' old refectory and the original cloister. (October 2026).
Checked against Comune di Radda in Chianti — The Comune di Radda in Chianti maintains an Ufficio Polizia Locale which has general responsibility for urban safety as well as functions of judicial, road, building, environmental and tax policing, is reachable from Monday to Saturday from 08:30 to 13:30 on 0577739622 or 0577739623, and among its responsibilities are road management, the ZTL and parking, for which it keeps a dedicated address. (October 2026).