Discovering the Brolio Castle in the Chianti area. The Chianti region is very fascinating, especially because of its hill and the nature all around, which looks like as untouched by the human being.
The Brolio Castle (Castello di Brolio in Italian) keeps the situation under control, as we could say, since it is a very fascinating building having a long and old history.
As the name suggests, it is located in the not very well known village of Brolio, located between Siena and Florence.
It dates back to the Early Middle Ages, and it became important thanks to the Ricasoli da Cacchiano family who settled there during the 12th century. Brolio, due to its position, was the scene of several battles between the Florence and Siena from the 14th to the 16th century.
It was totally under the Florentine hands, except from a Sienese occupation, which happened to be after the second Aragon invasion in 1472.
Even if some part of the castle had to be rebuilt, the stone bastions are still today in such a perfect condition, having the irregularly pentagon-shaped plan. You can still see the remains of the original medieval castle, and the Romanesque church which was built back in time, as well as the Neo-Gothic villa, which previously was one of the buildings of the famous baron Bettino Ricasoli, also known as the Iron Baron.
Nowadays, after being rebuilt and altered so many times, the castle gives the visitors the chance to see different times: from the fortified medieval bastions to the Romanesque and Neo-Gothic integration.
Being a symbol of the Chianti area, the hallmark product of the castle is of course the Chianti wine, which comes from the 240 hectares surrounding the building. Not many tourists, in fact, know that it was Bettino who invented the Chianti formula (as we know it today) back in 1872.
