Pieve Aldina

Pieve Aldina

Pieve Aldina occupies a former summer residence of the Bishops of Siena, built in the 15th and 16th centuries, and the hotel still adjoins the Romanesque church of Santa Maria Novella, one of the oldest in the Florentine heritage, its 16th-century frescoes preserved on the walls next door. That neighbor is the detail no other Chianti address can offer: a five-hundred-year-old church rather than a reconstruction of one. The hotel sits above the Chiantigiana wine road in Radda in Chianti, its 22 rooms and suites spread across restored stone buildings where exposed beams and traditional terracotta floors meet contemporary minimalism. Opened in 2023 as the first Italian address of Fontenille Collection and a member of Relais & Châteaux, it suits travelers who want the wine country ritual done properly: aperitivo under the pergola, dinner in the gardens, a plate of pici freschi or Florentina di Chianina from chef Niccolò Pini's kitchen at Restaurant Le Rondini, poured against Chianti bottles chosen for the table rather than the label. A seasonal outdoor pool, steam room and spa treatments cover the slower hours, and the estate runs its own wine and olive oil tastings alongside a Tuscan cooking workshop for guests who want the region explained rather than just photographed. The 22-room scale favors couples and small parties over convention traffic, though a conference hall stands ready for anyone folding business into the trip. Pets are welcome, parking and Wi-Fi are complimentary, and the property is wheelchair accessible throughout. What lingers after checkout is not the room but the frescoed wall next door, still standing after five centuries of Tuscan light. A 15th-century Episcopal residence in Radda in Chianti, Pieve Aldina keeps its Romanesque church and 16th-century frescoes next door, its 22 rooms scattered through restored stone buildings above the Chiantigiana wine road. Chef Niccolò Pini's Le Rondini and a seasonal pool round out days built for slow wine-country ritual.