Greve in Chianti historical timeline

History

The square is the history. From the Middle Ages onwards Greve's story is tied to its main square, which has always exercised the function of a mercatale — a market place.

The village began as a dependency. It was a simple dependency of the castle of Montefioralle, on the hill above. What changed its fortunes was geography: it stands at the point where the routes between the Valdarno, the Val di Greve and the road from Florence through the Chianti hills to the Sienese met, and so it could become the principal mercatale of the area.

The square took the shape the trade required — an elongated triangle, largely surrounded by porticoes. At its centre is the statue of Giovanni da Verrazzano by Romeo Pazzini; one vertex is held by the parish church of Santa Croce, a 19th-century building.

Administratively it looked north-east before it looked south. Before joining the Province of Florence, Greve belonged to the vicariate of San Giovanni Valdarno, on the boundary with the vicariate of Certaldo — which contained the province of Chianti, now entirely within the province of Siena.

The war years are documented and are not decorative. Greve in Chianti was one of the Tuscan comuni designated as a place of free internment for foreign Jews and political dissidents. At least seven people were held there under forced residence for short periods: two Slav family groups whose relatives were accused of anti-Italian activity, and a Greek Jew, Vittorio Giuseppe Nacamulli.

Under German occupation and the Italian Social Republic, during a round-up carried out by the Banda Carità around the frazione of San Michele, on 3 December 1943 the well-known Florentine Jewish businessman Goffredo Passigli was arrested together with his sons Leone and Giuseppe. Deported, they died at Auschwitz. As the front approached, acts of resistance multiplied and there were ferocious reprisals against the civilian population, until liberation on 24 July 1944.

And the name is recent. The town added "in Chianti" on 10 September 1977, on entering the Chianti Classico subzone. The English-language record instead gives 1972; the two do not agree, and the more precise Italian date is the one this page follows.

Verified against Wikipedia, October 2026.

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Checked against Wikipedia — Since the Middle Ages the history of Greve has been tied to its principal square, which has always exercised the function of a mercatale; the village was a simple dependency of the castle of Montefioralle but, thanks to its position at the point where the connecting routes between the Valdarno, the Val di Greve and the road leading from Florence through the Chianti hills into the Sienese met, it could become the principal mercatale of the area., The square of Greve, of the characteristic shape of an elongated triangle, is for the greater part surrounded by porticoes, and at its centre is placed the statue by the sculptor Romeo Pazzini representing Giovanni da Verrazzano; one of the vertices of the square is occupied by the parish church dedicated to Santa Croce, of the 19th century., From the historical-administrative point of view, before entering the Province of Florence, Greve formed part of the vicariate of San Giovanni Valdarno, although on the border with the vicariate of Certaldo, of which the province of Chianti formed part, now entirely comprised in the Province of Siena., During the Second World War Greve in Chianti was one of the comuni of Tuscany designated as a place of free internment for foreign Jews and political dissidents, where at least 7 people stayed under forced domicile for brief periods -- two Slav family groups whose relatives were accused of anti-Italian activity, and a Greek Jew, Vittorio Giuseppe Nacamulli., In the period of the German occupation and the Italian Social Republic, in the course of a round-up carried out by the Banda Carita around the frazione of San Michele, on 3 December 1943 the well-known Florentine Jewish businessman Goffredo Passigli was arrested together with his sons Leone and Giuseppe; deported, they died at Auschwitz, and with the approach of the front acts of resistance multiplied and there were also ferocious acts of reprisal against the civilian population, until the liberation on 24 July 1944., Greve in Chianti added the denomination "in Chianti" from 10 September 1977, with its entry into the Classico subzone of Chianti, and is an Italian comune of 13,321 inhabitants of the Metropolitan City of Florence in Tuscany, situated on the via Chiantigiana which joins Florence with Siena passing through the Chianti., The English-language record instead states that the old name was Greve and that in 1972 it was renamed Greve in Chianti after the inclusion of that area in the Chianti wine district, and gives the town as about 31 kilometres south of Florence and 42 kilometres north of Siena. (October 2026).