Discover Castello di Verrazzano

The Castello di Verrazzano stands in the comune of Greve in Chianti, in the province of Florence, on a hill at 348 metres above sea level and about two kilometres from the centre of Greve.

It was the property of the noble Florentine family Da Verrazzano, and in it, in 1485, was born Giovanni da Verrazzano — the explorer and navigator whose statue stands in Greve's market square, two kilometres downhill.

The castle perhaps began as a guardingo, a watch-post, of which there remains a crenellated tower of the 13th century. The castle itself was built between the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th.

It did not stay a castle. It was transformed into a so-called casa da signore, and then, in the 17th century, into a classic villa with a Tuscan farm, surrounded by an Italian garden. That is substantially what stands today.

Annexed to the castle is a chapel containing a panel by Ghirlandaio, the Eterno Padre.

Four phases, and the building wears all of them.

The guardingo is the first and the least of it — a watch-post, of which only the crenellated tower of the 13th century survives. Crenellation on a 13th-century Tuscan tower is a statement of jurisdiction as much as a defensive feature.

The castle of about 1500 was raised around it, between the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century — late for a castle, which is part of why it converted so readily into a residence.

The casa da signore is the hinge. The term describes exactly the transition: a house that has stopped defending and started receiving.

The 17th-century villa with fattoria completed it, with an Italian garden around it — geometry, axes and clipped planting, the opposite instinct to a defensive site, imposed on a defensive site.

The chapel is annexed rather than integral, and holds the Ghirlandaio.

The hill came first and the rest followed it. At 348 metres, this is a position chosen for sight-lines, which is consistent with the earliest use the record offers: a guardingo.

What survives of that first phase is a single crenellated tower of the 13th century, and it is the dateable anchor for everything else.

The castle was built around it between the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century. Building a castle at that date, in Florentine territory, is already half a gesture: the Chianti wars were over and the family that built it was a Florentine patrician one.

The conversions then ran in one direction only — castle, casa da signore, villa with Tuscan farm and Italian garden — each step trading defence for amenity.

The cellars went into the hill. The ageing cellars are built beneath the castle, using the slope that made the site defensible to keep wine at an even temperature. The same hill, repurposed.

Was Giovanni da Verrazzano really born here? The record states it directly: in the castle, property of the noble Florentine family Da Verrazzano, was born in 1485 the explorer and navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano.

How old is the castle? Two answers, both in the record. A crenellated tower of the 13th century survives from what may have been a guardingo; the castle itself was built between the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century.

Can I just turn up? No. It is a working wine estate and visits to the gardens and historic cellars are by booking. The number is +39 055 854243.

What does it cost? The estate's own guided-tours page does not publish prices, and the figures in circulation do not match the address it gives, so this page quotes none. Ask when booking.

What is in the chapel? A panel by Ghirlandaio, the Eterno Padre.

Why does the official link not work? The reference works still list verrazzano.org, which now redirects elsewhere. The estate is at verrazzano.com.

How far is it from Greve? About 2 kilometres, on a hill at 348 metres.