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Castelnuovo Berardenga

Location svg icon Castelnuovo Berardenga on map
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Lying a few kilometres to the northeast of Siena is the municipal town of Castelnuovo Berardenga, on the southern edge of the wine region of ‘Chianti Classico’. Surrounding the town are numerous olive groves and vineyards. To the north, lie the forested hills and valleys of the ‘Chianti’, home to much wildlife and many hamlets, castles and onetime monasteries clinging to the sides of steep inclines.

To the south of Castelnuovo Berardenga is the UNESCO world heritage site of ‘Le Crete’, the famous rolling hills and cypress avenues featured in so many romantic films of Tuscany.

Here is why Castelnuovo Berardenga remains a popular tourist destination and an excellent point from which to explore the surrounding region. A ‘gateway’ to the Chianti, Siena and beyond, visitors will be enchanted by its historical sites, the wineries famous for the red nectar of the ‘Chianti Classico’ and the hearty cuisine of Tuscany.

History of Castelnuovo Berardenga

The area known as ‘Berardenga’ was named after an early medieval Frankish noble ‘Berardo’, laying in between what is now the fortified village of ‘San Gusme’ and the town of ‘Castelnuovo Berardenga’. Berardo’s holding was originally known as ‘Contea Berardenga’.

In 1366 the Sienese fortified the town, from when it acquired the name ‘Castelnuovo’ meaning ‘new castle’.

In 1777 the current municipality was established incorporating more than thirty small municipalities and peoples of the ‘Berardenga’. At the time eminently rural, this area produced excellent wines, fabulous olive oil, exceptional cheeses and also where countless pigs and sheep were reared. There was an established home silk industry, which no longer exists, however many Mulberry trees still dot gardens and fields, the leaves of which were used to feed the silkworms. The land was owned by Sienese nobles, who turned many fortified houses and lookouts into rural houses, for personal use.

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Today

Castelnuovo Berardenga has many architectural features typical of small historic stone and brick towns of the Chianti. There are grand buildings, of which one is the ‘Villa Chigi Saracini’ by the architect and landscaper Agostino Fantastici, commissioned by Galgano Saracini in 1820. The villa and grounds were completed in 1840 on part of the old, fortified walls of Castelnuovo Berardenga. Also, by Fantastici is the church of Saints Guido and Clemente (1843-1846) commissioned by Count Agostino Saracini. The neoclassical façade may be admired from the ‘Bar Centrale’ a popular local watering hole.

The territory of Castelnuovo Berardenga has a wealth of 18th-19th century villas, such as Arceno, Geggiano, Guistrigona, Sestano, Villa a Sesta, Certosa di Pontignano, Badia Monastero and Santa Maria a Pacina. The Villa of Arceno is located between Castelnuovo Berardenga and San Gusme. The Villa was renovated by the Del Taja family in the 18th century, while the 18th-century chapel of San Giovanni and the romantic garden were both transformed by Agostino Fantastici in 1833.

Castelnuovo Berardenga 4 The town today has around nine thousand inhabitants served by two supermarkets, the municipal buildings, four restaurants and two bars. The older part of Castelnuovo Berardenga is centered around a main square. During the summer months many events are held in the main square where the locals and tourists alike of all ages, congregate to enjoy festivities, dinners with accompanying wines, live music and more. The local bars and restaurants often take part - alongside many of the local producers of Chianti’s most famous asset, the wine! During the summer months traffic is banned in the evening making the square a place to relax. While the grown-ups sip their wine or grappa from the bars and restaurants at the side, they can keep an eye on the children playing football in the square.

The restaurants in the area have different interpretations of Tuscan Cuisine to go with the wine. Visitors will enjoy grilled beef (the Chianina cattle providing the beef are famous for their size, hardiness and flavour), grilled pork and pork ragu from the famous ‘Cinta Senese’ pigs and a multitude of other sauces and cuts from ‘cinghiale’ (wild boar), ‘lepre’ (hare), goose, duck, chicken and rabbit, all served up with a variety of pastas, vegetables and ‘patate al forno’ (roasted spuds).

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Tuscan cusine is very meaty and hunting is a popular activity in this region but, another acclaimed activity is to produce the wine to go with all this hearty fare, and it is done to the utmost. Castelnuovo Berardenga has more than its share of wineries, many famous the world over; ‘Felsina’, ‘Tenuta Di Arceno’, ‘Valle Picciola’, ‘Tolaini’, ‘Le Trosce’, to name but a few and all worth a visit. Indeed, the primary objective for many visitors is to have a piece of ‘La Dolce Vita’ and enjoy the food, wine and the warm welcome from the hostelries in Castelnuovo Berardenga.

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