Castellina in Chianti is a calm and rich town of hill that once
represented the line of border of the endless war between
Florence and Siena. A singular testimony of that period is
represented by via delle Volte, a covered gallery that a time made
part of the fortifications of the city.
The development of Castellina was favored by its position on the short way that connected Florence and Siena so much that, when the League of Chianti was founded, Castellina became for a certain period its administrative center.
At the end of the XIV century was ransacked and burnt to the point that the Florentines erected new fortifications, in great part still existing. The area built inside the boundaries has generally preserved its native aspect, with the single exception of the church parish more recent neo-classic age.
The territory of Castellina is characterized from numerous castles, sometimes belonged to feudal dynasties as the one of Rencine, Pietrafitta and Grignano and the one of Leccia, that was transformed into villa-farm.
The territory moreover is studded from churches that have maintained the traces of their native Romanesque structure: the parishes of Sant'Agnese, Lilliano and the one of San Leonino in Conio, the canonical of Rencine and the church of Piazza, Ricavo, Monternano, Cispiano, Montanino, Protine and Leccia.