Tuscany Farmhouses

Monteforalle

Surrounded for its main part by walls, Montefioralle with its little and narrow streets is one of the most interesting country in the Chianti; in the past it was called Monteficalle. The Castle of Montefioralle was built in an undetermined period, it had two lines of walls with a lot of towers which were surrounded by the houses. The castle is octagonal in shape with four doors, a cellar, warehouses and tunnels which led to secret places. Here lived a lot of nobles such as: the Gherardini, Ricasoli, Vespucci, Bonaiuti, and Benci who had the power on turn.
From the 1250 It became the centre of the Greve-League from which depended the population of the region and it was the residence of the podestà  and the chief of the army.
The castle was destroyed many  times; with the falling of the Sienese Republic the activities moved to Greve, and also the nobles moved to Florence after the building of villas in their estate.
The church of S.Stefano recently restored houses a lot of works of art dating  back to 13th and 15th century. The Roman Pieve of S. Cresci was built in the XII century, it stands outside the walls, it is dedicated to S.Crescenzio and it has only a nave. This church was restored in the XVII century and today it has an arcade with two windows. The presbytery in the interior of the church is supported by four pillars and six semi-pillars. The arcade in front of the façade is a very rare element for the Roman architecture in Tuscany.