The Castle of Verrazzano is located in Greve in Chianti, in the heart of the Chianti Classico area, between Florence and Siena.
Initially the Castle was an Etruscan then a Roman settlement and it has remained within its boundaries for over 1000 years.
There is a great tradition of winemaking: the “vineyards situated in Verrazzano” are mentioned in a manuscript which dates back to 1150.
The Castle became the property of the Verrazzano family in the VII century.
Giovanni da Verrazzano, the navigator and discoverer of the bay of New York, was born in the Castle in 1485.
The important Florentine family of Ridolfi succeeded to the Verrazzanos after the death of the last descendant, in 1819. In the 20’ of 1900Luigi Ridolfi promoted the building of the Football Stadium in Florence and in 1926 he founded the Fiorentina, the football team of the city of Florence.
In 1958 the Cappellini family took over the Castle on the road of decadence and brought it back it to its former glory by restoring the villa and rebuilding the agricultural tissue and the vineyards.
Cavalier Cappellini laid the foundations for that awareness that inspired the institution of the Agritourism practice.

Guided tour to the Renaissance gardens of the Castle and to the historical aging cellars built directly into the hill below it.
After an exciting visit to the most characteristic places of the Castle and the winery, a light lunch with tasting of a selection of our best wines will await you directly at the Hosteria of the winery:
Verrazzano IGT Toscana, Verrazzano Chianti Classico DOCG, Verrazzano Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG, Special Selection of the cellar, Verrazzano Vinsanto del Chianti Classico DOC.
The wines are paired with the Gran tagliere Verrazzano proposal with:
PDO Tuscan ham, finocchiona, wild boar salami, headcheese with lemon zest, roasted bread with lard from Val di Greve, Tuscan roasted bread, goat cheese with farm jellies.
Tasting of "Balsamico Verrazzano" on pecorino (sheep cheese)
Tasting of the organic extra virgin olive oil from Castello di Verrazzano
Cantuccini with almonds and coffee

Vegetarian and gluten-free alternative available

Built by AGSM-AIM Spa in 2013, the Monte Mesa Wind Farm is a wind farm located on a small hill (Monte Mesa) nestled between the Lake Garda and the Italian Alps. The closer settlement is the town of Rivoli Veronese, ca. 33 km from Verona.

The plant consists of 4 x 2 MW Repower MM 92 2050 turbines, for a total installed power of 8 MW, and produces 16 GWh of electric energy per year, sufficient to satisfy the needs of 20’000 people.

The project is a good example of how a wind farm can be designed not only to maximize energy production, but also to be fully integrated into a territory, involving the local inhabitants, and protecting biodiversity. In fact, the site hosts a large variety of wild orchids, which cover its arid meadows with flowers between April and June (just in time for our visit). Its construction implied the sampling, classification, and, eventually, re-planting of all the orchid species present in the area. On top of that, a new bike route, directly connected to the larger River Adige one, and a didactic path that informs visitors on wind energy and the local flora, were realized.