Florence versus Siena

In the twelfth century, when not quite at war, Florence & Siena were frequent quarrelling about this and that. One of the main disagreements was on defining the border between the two city states.

Instead of kicking the shit out of each other, as they had previously, they decided to settle the dispute with a an honourable horse race.

Setting the scene: the cock crew loud and shrill

As the cock crowed, a rider would leave from each city. Where they met, would mark the border.  However, as the story goes, this is as far as honour went.

The Florentines had a black cock (a Gallo Nero) which they starved for days. Being a little on the hungry side, he crowed well before dawn giving the Florentine rider a head start. They had pulled a fast one on the Sienesi.

The “new” border at Fonterutoli

So, the riders met just south of Castellina, at Fonterutoli, much nearer to Siena than to Florence. This spot is a tiny hamlet and site of the Fonterutoli vineyard (run by the Mazzei family) where there’s a wine shop and a tour guide ready to recant the above story, albeit with more embellishment.

Gallo Nero, the symbol of Chianti

Thereafter, under the protection of Florence, the villages of Chianti adopted the symbol of the black cock or the Gallo Nero, which we see adorning the bottles of Chianti Classico today.

Read more on Chianti…

Enchanted by Chianti’s possibilities - Tomás Clancy in Sunday Business Post, 20th April 2008