If we refer to commonly used scientific terms, we may come round to the idea that Tuscans have a sense of order and moderation written in their genes. That sensitive eye for proportion expressed in the need of transforming every single article, fruit of their manual ability and imagination into something beautiful (besides, this is obvious from the fact that the Baroque has never taken root in these parts). It was a gift, or more simply, one aspect of their natural way of being, even in the case of peasants who were only familiar with the art of cultivating the land. This is still more evident in the building of houses. These people who never moved from their homes throughout their lives and never gained external knowledge about what was beautiful, do not seem to have had to exert themselves to combine the need of a functional and practical dwelling where the kitchen became the symbolic place in the centre of the surrounding rooms with their rustic but reliable instinct for proportions and the sobriety of their forms. They were not only poor, solid houses of simple, practical people, but humble dwellings in remarkably good taste.

The Chianti Farmhouse
Contrary to what is generally believed, the farmhouses were not initially inhabited by peasants. They were the dwellings of the lower racks of the nobility or of small proprietors. Frequently, the farmhouse was built on the ruins of the old abandoned castle, the tower because the dovecot in the centre of living quarters. It was only in the Renaissance and with the improvement of living conditions both for the owners and the peasants, that the farmhouse took on its present aspect as the home of sharecropper, while the well-to-do who go there to spend their holidays, convert them into villas.
The typical farmhouse in the form of a cube or parallelepiped is distinguished by a spacious loggia (beginning of 12th century), by one, two or more large porches, which provide a large covered space, where it was possible to work exploiting the sunlight till dusk. The dovecot tower, characteristic of buildings in the “Valdarno and the Chianti contribute to making them look lighter. It is usually surmounted by a single or double window and wider porches sometimes set in the centre of the main body of the building, or on one side. At others still, it is placed at the two ends of the farmhouse paired with another.
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See also:

Monna Lisa’s House, Montefienali: The Return from Oblivion, Castle of Meleto, Brolio Castle, or ‘dei Firidolfi Ricasoli’, The Church of San Polo

or go back to Houses of Chianti