Radda in Chianti historical timeline

History

Radda was the capital of the Lega del Chianti for four centuries and spent most of them being sacked. What makes its record unusual is not the fighting but what came after: the castles turned into wine farms in the seventeenth century, a grand duke found the place lontana da tutto in 1773, the town voted against joining Italy in 1860, and the countryside emptied in the 1950s before the same buildings were restored one by one from the 1970s.

Chronology

c. 2000 BC People are on this ground four thousand years ago. The archaeological area of Poggio la Croce shows the remains of an ancient village, with many finds recovered in the excavations of the last decade. An Etruscan village can be hypothesised afterwards, though very few traces of it have emerged.
5th century The pattern of today is already set. At the fall of the Western Roman Empire small rural settlements have formed here and still exist: Castelvecchi, Monterinaldi, Volpaia and Radda itself.
9th-10th c. Feudal society arrives and the villages are fortified.
1002 The first certain document is imperial. A diploma in which Emperor Otto III confirms the donation made by Countess Willa in favour of the Badia Fiorentina. Radda appears in many Badia Fiorentina documents down to the twelfth century.
1041 A document of the Badia a Coltibuono records it as Ramda judicaria fiorentina et fesulana.
25 May 1191 Emperor Henry VI grants the castle of Radda and its court in fief to the conti Guidi, a grant later confirmed by Frederick II. Some accounts compress this into a single grant of 1220 under Frederick II; the dated version is the one carried here. By the thirteenth century the territory is in any case already dependent on Florence.
1230 The castle is sacked by the Sienese in a raid.
1268 Occupied, with other Chianti localities, by French troops under Charles I of Anjou.
late 13th c. Radda is the capoluogo of the Lega del Chianti, seat of a podestà appointed by the Florentines. Among its podestà is Francesco Ferrucci.
1415 The comunal statute confirms Radda as the League's capital.
1478 A fresh occupation and a heavy sack, in the second Aragonese invasion.
17th century Peace turns the castles into farms. The conflicts over, the castles of this territory are transformed into seigneurial villas in which the owners devote themselves to producing wine.
1773 Pietro Leopoldo visits and finds Radda lontana da tutto. The roads are improved; the territory stays poor and isolated.
1860 Radda votes no. At the plebiscite on annexation to Sardinia, attachment to the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty is strong enough that the town declines: 281 in favour, out of 581 voting, from 879 entitled.
1950s Rural depopulation peaks.
1970s The rediscovery begins, and since then the castles, villas and individual farmhouses have been restored one by one.

Verified against Wikipedia, October 2026.

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Checked against Wikipedia — The area around the capoluogo of Radda in Chianti has been inhabited since 2000 BC, as the archaeological area of Poggio la Croce shows, where the remains of an ancient village have emerged and where the excavations of the last decade have brought many finds to light; the presence of an Etruscan village can subsequently be hypothesised, although very few traces of it have emerged., At the fall of the Western Roman Empire, in the 5th century, small agglomerations of rural character had already formed in the area of Radda and still exist today: these borghi were Castelvecchi, Monterinaldi, Volpaia and Radda itself; between the 9th and 10th centuries the area saw the birth of feudal society, which brought the fortification of the villages., The first certain document in which Radda is cited is a diploma of 1002 in which the emperor Otto III confirmed the donation made by Countess Willa in favour of the Badia Fiorentina; the locality Radda appears in many documents of the Badia Fiorentina down to the 12th century, and in a document of the Badia a Coltibuono of 1041 it is recorded as Ramda judicaria fiorentina et fesulana., On 25 May 1191 the emperor Henry VI granted the castle of Radda and its court in fief to the conti Guidi, the same fief being confirmed again by the emperor Frederick II, although already in the 13th century the territory of Radda was dependent on Florence., The castle of Radda was sacked by the Sienese in a raid in 1230, while in 1268 it was occupied, together with other Chianti localities, by French troops led by Charles I of Anjou; Radda suffered a new occupation and a new heavy sack during the second Aragonese invasion in 1478., 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., In the 17th century, the conflicts now ended, the castles of the Radda territory were transformed into seigneurial villas in which the owners devoted themselves to the production of wine., Radda in Chianti was visited in 1773 by Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo, who found it lontana da tutto, far from everything; as a consequence of the visit the roads were improved, but the territory of Radda always remained poor and isolated., Affection for the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty remained strong at Radda for a long time: at the plebiscite of 1860 for the annexation of Tuscany to Sardinia, Radda voted against, with 281 yes out of 581 voting, from 879 entitled to vote., The situation reached its height in the 1950s when the depopulation of the countryside, a phenomenon common to many areas of the Chianti, peaked; in the 1970s the rediscovery of these places began and slowly all the castles, villas and individual farmhouses have been restored, with agriturismi and farm businesses established in them. (October 2026).