Discovery of the territory, gastronomy, and adventure: this is the exclusive proposal of thefarm Cipressi in Chianti of Radda in Chianti (Siena), interpreter of the most authentic Tuscan traditions. “Prosciutto Experience Farm Tour” is a multi-sensory experience through the ancient Etruscan lands that aims to enhance one of the most representative traditional products, a witness to the local agricultural biodiversity: the Cinta Senese ham.
In Chianti off-road
Boarding an off-road vehicle, meeting at the Rural Market of Radda, following a route among vineyards, forest roads, white roads, dirt paths, and mule tracks, many of which were made on very ancient paths that connected the Maremma with the Valdarno and the Apennines since Etruscan times, you will reach the farm that hosts the breeding of the Cinta pig on the hills of Barbischio.
We are on the ridge of the Chianti Mountains, about 7 kilometers from the village of Gaiole and 15 from Radda and here the pigs graze freely in an ancient 40-hectare oak wood. Characteristic of the territory of Montagnola Senese (thought to date back to the Roman era) they quickly expanded up to the Monti del Chianti, where they found the environment best suited to their rustic and robust nature.
Widespread in the Middle Ages, as evidenced by numerous Tuscan artworks, this breed suffered a sharp decline in the 1960s, risking extinction due to the introduction of more profitable pig species to the market. Thanks to a group of local breeders, it was recovered up to the 2012 recognition of the PDO. Its exquisite meats can be cooked in various ways or transformed into different cured meats, and at the farm, you will have the opportunity to taste them to appreciate their unique flavors and aromas, thanks to free-range breeding and genetic characteristics.
Along the approximately 35-kilometer circular route, you will encounter fortified villages, medieval castles, and ancient religious monuments that, together with the Cinta pig, illustrate the history of this territory.
Upon returning to Radda in Chianti, the tour continues with a visit to the sixteenth-century curing cellar, accessed through a red door in the center of the medieval village. In an environment both ancient and well renovated, you will be enveloped by the aromas of hams prepared with the legs of pigs raised outdoors by the farm Cipressi in Chianti which are brought to long curing using a strictly natural method. Everything, from breeding to the butcher-laboratory, to the cellar—finds its ethical and professional foundation in respect for the tradition of Tuscan artisanal products.
Finally, just a few steps away by foot, you return to the Rural Market, a reclaimed former mechanical workshop, where you will be guided through the discovery of agricultural biodiversity products from cultivators and breeders preserving old plant species and breeds from Tuscany, Emilia Romagna, and Liguria.
Program “Prosciutto Experience Farm Tour”
- Meeting in Radda in Chianti, on Via XX Settembre, at the Rural Market;
- route illustration and departure;
- crossing the territory of historic Chianti;
- visit to the Cinta Senese farm of Cipressi in Chianti and tasting amid the majestic setting of an oak forest;
- return to Radda in Chianti via dirt roads;
- visit to the curing cellar in the village of Radda in Chianti;
- guided tour of the agricultural biodiversity products at the Rural Market.
The duration of the Rural tour is about 2.5 hours.
Cost per person: 90 euros, minimum four people.
Reservation is required.
For information:
Chianti Live – Travel Agency
Via Venti Settembre, 17 – Radda in Chianti (Siena)
Tel: 0577.735670
E-mail: info@chiantilive.it
