Badia A Passignano: Monastery, Wine and Protected Chianti Landscape

Badia A Passignano is a destination for you if, during a trip to Tuscany, you would like to combine monastic history, art, wine and landscape. The abbey forms the historic focus of the area, while the nature reserve and vineyards provide additional reasons to visit in their own right. This allows you to discover the area through its history as well as its landscape and regional wine culture.

Monastery, defensive wall and art

As early as the 11th century, the monastery adopted the Vallombrosan rule through Giovanni Gualberto. Giovanni Gualberto died at this monastery on 12 July 1073. This connection makes Badia A Passignano a place where the early history of the Vallombrosan community is directly linked to the monastery. The monastery complex is still surrounded by a square 15th-century defensive wall with corner towers. The abbey church has a Latin-cross floor plan and was almost completely rebuilt from the second half of the 16th century onwards. Inside, you can see frescoes by Il Passignano and Alessandro Allori. The historic furnishings also include the monastery kitchen, which has remained virtually unchanged since the 18th century. For a visit, guided tours of the abbey can be requested at the monastery by prior reservation. The guided tour includes the Church of San Michele. The refectory with Domenico Ghirlandaio’s Last Supper is also part of a guided tour. If you are travelling with different interests, this allows you to focus your visit clearly on sacred architecture, painting and monastic history, rather than simply viewing the site from the outside.

Chianti landscape and protected area

The Badia a Passignano protected area was established by the municipality of Tavarnelle Val di Pesa in 2008 and covers 364 hectares. Typical of the Chianti region, the landscape alternates between hills covered with vineyards or cultivated fields and hills covered with olive groves or woodland. The protected area is also home to 17 mammal species.

Wine, cellars and walks

Guided tours of the Badia a Passignano cellars are available exclusively by reservation. Badia a Passignano Chianti Classico DOCG Gran Selezione is produced from the vineyards surrounding the monastery. This adds a specific aspect of regional wine production to the history of the area. Agricola La Badia offers private wine and olive oil tastings. Guests can also take walks through the vineyards and olive groves there, as well as taste the estate’s products from its vineyards and olive groves. These activities offer a different focus from the abbey tour: the emphasis is on agricultural products and the landscape from which they come.

Routes and further orientation

At the starting point of the Anello del Guardingo Passignano, you can park your car at the junction of Via Poggio al Vento and Via di Greve. The Via Romea Sanese also leads from San Casciano in Val di Pesa to Badia a Passignano. If you would like to broaden your search to other places at the same destination level, you can also discover San Donato.

To the overview of the higher-level destination: Tavarnelle Val Di Pesa.