Discover Chianti

Castelbonsi

The first turning left off the provincial road leads to Castelbonsi. It was originally named Castelbonizi, from the surname of a Germanic family. In the 11th century it became a castle of the Florentine Bishops and subsequently passed on to the Gherardini family. Before you reach the village there is a large villa enclosed by crenellated walls which, in the 15th century, belonged to Giovanni Petrini, notary of the Signoria. On the facade is a tabernacle containing a fresco with a Madonna and Child with Saints Francis and Lawrence, datable to the late 14th or early 15th century. The ruins of the castle lie a bit further on, in the field opposite the Church of San Lorenzo. The church, recorded in documents in the 11th century, was rebuilt in the early 17th century by the Petrini family. An inscription says that the main altar was again restored in 1758.

Cappella dello Strozzo

Traveling slowly on via Grevigiana in the direction of Mercatale a chapel can just be made out, half hidden by cypresses and holm-oaks. It is known as the chapel “dello Strozzo” because it was built by Matteo Strozzi, Villa Caserotta’s 16th century owner. lt is a small structure with a portico supported by columns. According to the historian Giorgio Vasari, Strozzi commissioned the Medici portrait painter, Agnolo Bronzino to paint the Pieta with Angels on the altar. By the 18th century the fresco was already badly damaged. In 1941 it was detached and placed on a new support after a heavy-handed restoration, in which whole areas were repainted.

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