Castello di Brolio

Most majestic of all the castles around Gaiole in Chianti, the Castello di Brolio is located some 10km south of along the SS484, isolated high on a hill with views for miles around. Donated to the monks of the Badia Fiorentina in 1009 by Matilda of Tuscany’s father Bonifacio, it passed to the Ricasoli in 1167. Located on the border of Florence and Siena, it was often on the front lines,

In 1478 the castle was bombarded for weeks by the Aragonese and Sienese, who later demolished it so ‘the walls levelled with the earth’. Florence rebuilt it, and in the mid-19th century, Bettino Ricasoli (1809-80) who inherited it, converted the family seat into a splendid fortified Noe-Gothic residence. It still bears the marks of an artillery attack in the Second World War.