ALBOLA CASTLE - CHIANTI AREA
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Albola, or better Old Albola, rises in the territory of Radda in Chianti. In the Middle Age all the Chianti Area was covered with many fortified settlements. These castles were fiefs of the many different local lords, like the counts Guidi, the Trebbiesi, the 'da Monte Rinaldi. Since the 1201, after the peace of Fonterutoli, Florence starts to wield its power on the region. At the beginning of the XIV century this territory was organized in "Terzieri" united in the new born "Chianti League". Albola, located on a hillock close to the sources of the river Pesa, was one of the most powerful castles of the Terziere commanded by the near town of Radda in Chianti. It was also a main point of resistance at the Aragonese invasion of the 1478, before it became part of the Gran Duchy of Tuscany.
The castle still looks today like a classic Tuscan mountain stronghold with the great part of its structures dating back to the XIII-XIV century. Albola is also one of the few castles of this type that maintains traces of the external elliptical walled enclosure, at the center of which still stands the mighty and tall keep flanked by another lower building, both of medieval origin. The original gate of the keep opens itself at the first floor level, all the complex is constructed in stone and was recently object of a big restoration. The Albola Castle Farm is one of the most prestigious tuscan agricultural settlement, property of some of the most ancient florentine nobiliary families. Equipped with a modern cellar, perfect architectural and technological treasure, the estate is surrounded by nine farms in which the 157 hectars of specialized vineyards are subdivided. The main vineyard is the Sangiovese, the Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir.
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