DAY 29 - RADDA IN CHIANTI (Rest Day) - 19 May 2026

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Because it is a rest day, we slept in and had a leisurely buffet breakfast. We walked right around the old walls of Radda, which didn't take long, admiring the views and marvelling how far and how high we have come.

Legend goes that in the border dispute between Florence and Siena, it was decided that two knights would set out on horseback from their respective cities at the exact moment a rooster crowed at dawn. The point where they met would mark the official border. The starving black rooster of the Florentines gave their knight a clear advantage over the well fed white rooster of the Sienese, by crowing first. Rooster symbols are found everywhere in Radda and the black rooster on a bottle of wine signifies that it comes from the Chianti Classico region. Our wine of choice here! 

We wandered through the maze of streets and arches, finding lots of interest. We're in tourist territory and we heard more English than Italian. We had a hot chocolate - this one was more like cocoa - before an afternoon nap.

Later, we followed the Wellness Path at a nearby spa. This consisted of a sauna, steam rooms, colour and hot and cold therapies, as well as our favourite, a large jacuzzi. We feel well rested and ready to begin the walk again tomorrow. 

Radda in Chianti - wine barrels and roosters on display everywhere
Not all about wine - there are a few other tourist shops in the village
Radda's famous big black rooster
A cute row of Vespas
We enjoyed the views from Radda to the surrounding vineyards 
It didn't take long to walk around the walls of the old village
A stroll around the outside of the village
Some of Radda's stone buildings
Wine wisdom spotted on the streets of Radda
Bike culture is also very big in this area
Display posters were appearing for Radda's annual wine festival, which is on this weekend
Interesting stone architecture in the village
Another interesting scene
A shop that didn't sell wine and had no rooster on display
A colour-coordinated 3-wheeled truck
Some intriguing faces spotted in the centre of Radda in Chianti 
Piazza Francesco Ferrucci
A medieval passageway
The sign explains that this chair and its neighbour are for the exclusive use of the owner of the Tuscan wineshop and his neighbour Gianni who sells T-shirts (subtext - not for tourists)
Another fine Tuscan dinner
Sunset over the vineyards,  from Radda in Chianti 
Today's birds - lots of Chianti roosters 
Even more Chianti roosters
Day 29 - Map (with Chianti rooster frame)

Day:                               29
Distance:                      0 km
Walking time:               0 hrs 0 mins
Elevation gain:             0 metres
Cumulative distance:  541.97 km

Comments

  1. Anonymous20 May 2026 at 12:36

    Birds today: Gallus gallus domesticus. :) Seriously I am really enjoying travelling with you vicariously from my couch.
    from Carolyn p.s. I really want a 3 wheel ute!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Barkers20 May 2026 at 22:07

    😂 Glad you're enjoying it, those 'api' are great, we agree!

    ReplyDelete

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