Lucarelli: Wine, Cuisine and Trails in the Pesa Valley

Lucarelli combines documented local history with wine and culinary experiences, as well as trails through the valley of the Pesa River. If you are looking for accommodation in a place offering a variety of excursion options, you will find specific points of interest here: historical traces, a parish church, guided tastings, hands-on cooking, and routes on foot or by gravel bike.

Local History and San Martino

The place name is already documented in the Florentine land register of 1427 under the name “Lucherelli.” In the land register entries of 1776, the name “Lucarelli” then appears. The religious history of the place took a new direction in 1946: the parish of San Martino in Monterinaldi, into which the parish of San Piero in Pesa had been incorporated, was relocated to Lucarelli. The present-day parish church has a more recent construction history. Construction of the new San Martino church began in 1938; it was designed by the architect Egisto Bellini. Lucarelli’s present parish church is also dedicated to Saint Martin and is a modern building constructed in the Neo-Romanesque style in the late 1940s. A visit therefore allows you to trace not only a place name but also the development of the town’s religious center.

Wine and Tuscan Cuisine

Several experiences with clearly distinct focuses are concentrated at Loc. Pesanella 75 in Lucarelli. The “Tasting with a Serving Board” includes a guided tasting of three wines as well as organic extra virgin olive oil served with local cured meats and cheese. It therefore combines wine tasting with typical regional products. At “Winemaker for a Day,” you taste selected red wines and create your own wine blend under the guidance of an expert. The “Cooking School,” by contrast, focuses on hands-on cooking: there, you prepare a menu inspired by traditional Tuscan recipes using local ingredients. For families or travel groups with different interests, these three formats offer various ways to get to know regional products without every activity following the same format.

Hiking and Gravel Routes

One hiking route leads downhill into the valley of the Pesa River, crosses the river, and then reaches Lucarelli. A hiking route to Lucarelli is listed as 8.1 km long, with a duration of 2 hours and 30 minutes and an elevation gain of 169 m. Lucarelli is also part of a described gravel-bike route. The cycling loop between Radda in Chianti and Castellina in Chianti reaches Lucarelli and follows the Pesa River along the way. The loop from Radda in Chianti via Castellina in Chianti and back is 38 km long and has 659 m of elevation gain. It is suitable for gravel bikes and has a moderate physical and technical difficulty level. From Lucarelli, the cycling loop climbs uphill through the “Valle dell’Oro” along the Pesa. The name refers to gold prospectors who were active there in the 1980s. This gives the sporting route an additional local connection that differs from the religious and culinary themes. If you would like to discover other destinations in addition to Lucarelli, you can also view [Castelvecchi](Castelvecchi) and [Castello Di Volpaia](Castello Di Volpaia).

To the broader travel overview: Radda / Chianti.