Places to visit

The first mention of the locality of Selvole is in 1070 but the fi rst explicit signs of the presence of a castle go back to 1127 and 1158. It was the main site for a local noble family, the Lambardi, whose representatives became part of the dominant class in the Siena Council in the first half of the twelfth century. In 1230, it was assailed and destroyed by the Florentine's and in 1262 the council established that the taxes paid by the men in that community should be used to reconstruct the castle. In the following ten years it seems that the frustrating role of settlement was always less effective because in the Table of the Possessions of 1317-18, the castle is listed in the possessions of the Malavolti family, as an open village. It belonged to the same family, the Malavolti up until the 1960's. The church San Martino is praised by the mayor of Poggibonsi in 1203. The religious patronage of the Malavolti family is documented up until the fourteenth century. For a certain period, it was united to that of Cerreto, successively returned under the parish church Asciata. The interior, completely plastered, presents some tombstones of the Malavolti family. The far wall is painted with a fresco's that present a scene of the life of Saint Martino, dated 1891.

Monteaperti place-name is mentioned since 1023, when it was a Berardenghi family's castle. The popularity of its name is linked to the famous battle fought by Sienese and Florentines in the plain between Arbia and Malena torrents, mentioned by Dante in his Divine Comedy ..(Inferno Canto X,85). A memorial pyramid has been placed in the hill that dominates the plain to remind the event.

In the locality of Dofana, according to tradition, at the beginning of the fourth century Saint Ansano was recognized as martyr, evangelist and patron of Siena. A church was constructed on the place of the martyr, where the body of the saint was held until 1108, when it was transferred to the cathedral of Siena. The most antique record of the "ecclesia sancti Ansani" dates back to 650. An oratory of S. Ansano is noted in the donations made by count Winigis to the Berardenga abbey in the act of its' foundation, in 867. In 1504, the chapel was almost in ruins and in 1507-08 the Bishop of Arezzo gave permission to restore it, the motive for which some scholars from the 800's had promoted the name of Baldassarre Peruzzi. In 1575, it seems that the building was regularly in order. The last restorations of the Oratory of Saint Ansano were carried out in 1931 and in 1980. The chapel, situated a couple of hundred metres from the church dedicated to the same saint, shows an octagonal layout, extended on the opposite side of the entrance with a rectangular collection box. An epigraph situated by the collection box remembers the restorations, of the end of the century, of the building and of the genius of Pietro Lorenzetti, now conserved in the art gallery of Siena.

References to the Church of Sant'Ansano in Dofana are found in documents dated 1139, concerning a list of places which were quarrelled by Siena and Arezzo bishops having a cantury-old contest for some churches possession. The building has been restored in 1190 and re-built (or re-restored) in 1380. Moreover in 1529 it has been re-built again. The "new" three aisles church contains in the left aisle altar Sant'Ansano statue in a niche and, beneath, a shrine with the Saint's relics.

Villa a Sesta is a typical and picturesque Chianti village with a prevalent rural economy, located on the route to Brolio. Until the middle of IX century it was a Berardenga Counts possession. In 1882 its incomes were given to S.Salvatore in Campi Abbey, which is Berardenga's. The Church of S. Mary in Villa a Sesta is mentioned since VIII century as dependent on Pieve of San Felice. The current building anyway came out from a complete re-building and following transformations date back to XIX century. On the side-altars, inside the respective chapels, there are the Jacopo della Quercia Madonna con bambino wood statue and a Santa Caterina painting, which dates back to XVIII century.

In the medieval settlement of San Felice, there was a site of a parish church documented up until the beginning of the eighth century and a community of the county of Siena certifi ed around the half of year 200. In 1676, it was a small community of the mayor of Castelnuovo including seven farms. In the land register of 1825, it seems that a large part already formed the nucleus of buildings actually included between the villa, characterised by fl oor plans similar to the existent ones, and the parish church. The parish church of San Felice in Pincis is recorded for the first time in 714. In the following centuries, up until 800, it seems that the parish church is patronage of the Cerretani family. The last radical restoration was carried out in the first half of 900. Inside, the vaults have been decorated with a fresco's by Luigi Papi with the Four Evangelists and medieval inspired motives.

Bossi is mentioned for the first time in 1099. Around the half of XIII century was the seat of Sienese surrounding countryside village and in XIV century appeared among Berardenga Vicarage communities. In XVII century it became the seat of one of the rural storehouses of the Sienese hospital Santa Maria della Scala. After the Middle Age the settlement had several transformations until 1825, when the main building became a Villa. The current structure includes a shoe-like basement of a late Middle Age tower.

Saint Gusmè derives from Saint Cosma, of which the church's secret namesake is recorded since 867. In 1201 it was a non fortifi ed village of modest dimensions, around which the abbey of Barardenga had notably developed its' property. In 1370, following the raids of the mercenary groups, the inhabitants decided, with the help of Siena, to fortify the village with a wall around the outside. Between 1477 and 1479, it was once again fortified. Saint Gusmè, situated in the south-oriental area of higher Chianti, represents still to this day an example of a fortified village, of large circular form, delimited by an external wall still partly existing. This wall, of which the layout is clearly defi ned in a fl oor plan of the end of sixteenth century, conserves some features, with rectangular banks, a good part immersed into buildings which are leant against them. They have conserved the two gateways, even though slightly reshaped, which gave access to the castle. The Siena (Senese) gateway is surmounted by a rectangular plaque in marble with the shield of Siena between two leaves. In 1939 a third gateway was discovered, Porta Nuova (new gateway), which opens at the side of the churches of Saints Cosma and Damiano. The churches of the Saints Cosma and Damiano and of the SS. Annunziata are situated inside the village.

The existence of Arceno open village is documented since XI century, resulting as count Guinigi della Berardenga donation to Abbey of San Salvatore a Fontebuona. In 1676 Arcena was one of the several Berardenga little communes. The homonymous villa was built "ex novo" by will of knight Flaminio del Taja at the end of XVII century, when the agriculture was on the mend in the whole territory. Nearby the villa there is a great romantic park, carried out around 1833 by Agostino Fantastici. To its main feature is a thick wood vegetation with rare plants like sequoias, camphors tree and Libanon cedars. Little paths with trees lead to the artifi cial lake, supplied by Ombrone river. Because of the lake, two buildings have been built: Porto and Casa delle Barche. Arceno park, even if is not completely homogeneous, is unique in its type and representing the typical Fantastici eclectic style. (In 2007, the park will remain closed for restoration)

The villa of Catignano was built supposedly due to the initiative of Lodovico Sergardi, noted humanitarian known also by the pseudonym Quinti Settano (1660 - 1726). The villa has a rectangular layout, which develops, on three continuous levels, with a small extension that suggests an L shape. With regards to the interior, note the entrance hall on the ground fl oor, characterised by three stone columns that support an entablature with the coat of arms of the Sergardi family. On the first fl oor are rooms with painted architectural features, decorated attics and beam supports in wood and plaster. The Italian style garden, accessed by two fl ights of steps, is divided into three sections: the first is characterized by a series of ornate fl owerbeds and spherical box hedges, the second is made up of a vegetable garden and apple orchard and the third presents a maze formed by box hedges. The chapel of Santa Croce is dated 1697. Rich decorative props characterize the internal walls. On the far wall and altar is the sculptured representation of the story of the True Cross.