FLORENCE CHIANTI TOUR – 12K

The Chianti is a hilly region between Florence, Siena and Arezzo. World famous for its red wine as well as being painted in the most beautiful renaissance masterpieces of Piero della Francesca, Botticelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. This running tour gives you the opportunity to dive deep into the mysteries of the Chianti region. Discover how centuries of human work have shaped this landscape like a sculpture. The tour starts at the railway station of Rignano sull’Arno, a small village 30 km from Florence that can be easily reached by regional train.

Climbing uphill, runners will reach vineyards and typical Tuscan farmhouses that were part of the Podere. In the morning it is also common to meet a pheasant or a deer and the atmosphere is magical while running between the olive trees looking at an endless succession of hills in the landscape. The course is never flat, with varied sights of fields, small country tabernacles, woods and small villages. Colours change continuously depending on the time of the day or the season. The landscape always looks like a painting, the cypress like brushstrokes along a country road.

Climbing to the top of a hill we will reach the monastery of San Cristoforo in Perticaia, and after crossing a wood we will see the tiny gem of the stone church of St. Petere’s in Perticaia, dominating the landscape of the Arno valley on one side and the Chianti region on the other. Going downhill we will cross the incredible countryside around a farm and Villa Pagnana with vineyards on one side and olive trees on the other.

The tour is mainly run on dirt roads with almost no traffic. The path is suitable for any kind of runner but as Chianti is a hilly region be ready to climb a little bit! Anyway, as it is a private tour we can make as many stops as we like and also walk if needed.

Rignano can be reached with a regional train from Florence central station – trains leave every hour and the journey takes around 30 minutes. Please feel free to ask for transport alternatives.