Tuscany · Firenze
Greve in Chianti
The market town on the Greve river, with a triangular piazza arcaded since the sixteenth century.
By Peter Benei
Written about. No. 32.
The letter
Greve in Chianti got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 44 min from Florence
- Population
- 13,381
- J10°
- F12°
- M14°
- A17°
- M22°
- J27°
- J31°
- A31°
- S26°
- O20°
- N15°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Greve sits in the Val di Greve, thirty-one kilometers south of Firenze and forty-two north of Siena, on the small fast river that gave the town its name. The valley narrows here enough that the road to Firenze runs past the castle estates on the slopes to the north before dropping into the town itself, and the walled hamlet above Greve looks down on the piazza from its kilometer of higher ground, a settlement some centuries older than the square below it, its tenth-century walls predating the piazza's sixteenth-century arcades. The piazza is the point around which the rest of the town organizes itself: shops and a market under the arcades, a rebuilt church closing its south end, and the roads out toward the castles and the hamlet all beginning at its edges.
The Saturday market fills the piazza. The wine festival in early September empties the surrounding cellars into glasses for three days. What holds the place together is the geography more than any single monument: a market town at a river crossing, ringed by the vineyard slopes and the older hill settlement that all feed into the same triangular square.
How to get there
From Bologna (BLQ), about 1 h 46 min by car.
Pisa (PSA) is about 1 h 52 min away.
By car from the center of Florence 44 min, Siena 1 h 11 min or Pisa 1 h 46 min.
Coming by train into Firenze Santa Maria Novella? Greve in Chianti is about 50 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Bologna airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Piazza Matteotti
The arcades shelter wine shops, butchers and pasticcerie, wrapped around the irregular triangle of paving with the navigator's bronze figure watching the center.
Chiesa di Santa Croce
Neoclassical parish church on the south point of the piazza, rebuilt in the nineteenth century after earthquake damage.
Castello di Verrazzano
Vineyard estate on the hills north of town, producing Chianti Classico on slopes tied to the family name that reached New York Bay.
Castello di Vicchiomaggio
Eleventh-century Longobard castle on the road to Firenze, still producing Chianti Classico from surrounding vineyards.
Montefioralle
Tenth-century walled hamlet a kilometer above Greve, member of the Borghi più belli network, with concentric streets around a single church.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Castello VicchiomaggioRistorante
Castello Vicchiomaggio holds one Gambero Rosso fork (78/100).
Da PadellinaTrattoria
Da Padellina carries a Gambero Rosso listing.
Enoteca BaldiWine Bar
Enoteca Baldi carries two Gambero Rosso bottles.
2 more places the guides name in Greve in Chianti
Officina della BisteccaTrattoria
One Gambero Rosso prawn, at Officina della Bistecca.
Ristoro di LamoleRistorante
Ristoro di Lamole carries a Gambero Rosso listing.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Signature product
Chianti Classico DOCG
Sangiovese-dominant; one of nine Chianti Classico communes between Florence and Siena.
See the towns we cover in the zone of Chianti Classico DOCG.
Living here
Could you live here?
Greve in Chianti meets both of our rules for a small town.
- 13,381 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Firenze, a city of 361,705, is 44 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 13,381, down 3.8% since 2015
- Nearest city Florence, 44 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Figline e Incisa Valdarno, 11 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,500 to €2,100 per m² to buy, €4.80 to €6.70 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
- Full fibre reaches 51% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Florence airport (FLR), 48 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Florence, 44 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
12% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Kosovo, Albania and Romania, against 9% across Italy. 186 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, the United Kingdom and France. There are 260 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 28% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Florence province ranks 36th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Bagno a Ripoli, 17 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Florence, 23 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Florence, 23 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Florence, 20 km as the crow flies. There are 2 within 30 km.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds between 0.75% and 0.8% to your income tax, depending on your income, with nothing due on income under €13,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Tuscany spends about €2,410 a month, €540 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €770 a year for water, on the Tuscany average. In Florence, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.29, a meal in a pizzeria €13.81 and a man's haircut €21.33.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 6% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 12% in a high or medium one. 11% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
CHIANTI CLASSICO
The wine zone was redrawn in 1932 to center on this market town, whose black-rooster seal marks bottles from castle estates on the surrounding hills.
PIAZZA MATTEOTTI
Triangular arcaded square from the sixteenth century, with the Verrazzano statue at its center and the Saturday market spreading under the porticoes.
VERRAZZANO
Giovanni da Verrazzano was born here and sailed for France into New York Bay in 1524, eighty-five years before Hudson.
Common questions
- What is Greve in Chianti known for?
- Greve in Chianti is the market town on the Greve river, with a triangular piazza arcaded since the sixteenth century.
- Where is Greve in Chianti?
- Greve in Chianti is a comune in the province of Firenze, in Tuscany, at 236 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Greve in Chianti?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Florence (FLR), about 48 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Florence to Greve in Chianti?
- About 44 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Greve in Chianti?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Greve in Chianti?
- Castelnuovo Berardenga, Castellina in Chianti and Barberino di Mugello.
- How many people live in Greve in Chianti?
- 13,381 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Greve in Chianti a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Greve in Chianti is a small town that meets both of our rules. The nearest city, Firenze, is 44 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Figline e Incisa Valdarno, 11 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 51% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 236 m
- Population: 13,381
- Surface area: 169.38 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Greve in Chianti appears in
- The best olive oil towns that live slowly in TuscanyTuscanyolive oilslow living6 towns · smallest 2,898 residents
- The prettiest villages that live slowly in TuscanyTuscanyprettiest villagesslow living6 towns · smallest 2,309 residents
- The best hill towns in the province of FirenzeFirenze provincehill town7 towns · smallest 3,438 residents
- The best wine towns within 90 minutes of FlorenceNear Florencewithin 90 minwine zone7 towns · smallest 2,605 residents · closest 39 min away
- The best olive oil towns within 90 minutes of FlorenceNear Florenceolive oilwithin 90 min8 towns · smallest 2,605 residents · closest 24 min away
- The 9 best hill towns that live slowly in TuscanyTuscanyhill townslow living9 towns · smallest 2,309 residents
Featured on
Greve in Chianti appears on 3 themed picks from our Collections:
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 29.
San Gimignano
Province: Siena
A walled hill town at 334 meters with 14 surviving medieval towers, UNESCO listed since 1990 and the home of Vernaccia.
25 km away
- Written about. No. 31.
Castelnuovo Berardenga
Province: Siena
A commune of 351 meters, the last castle Siena built against Florence, in 1366.
30 km away
- Written about. No. 35.
Siena
Province: Siena
The medieval rival of Florence at 322 meters on three hills, with a shell-shaped piazza where seventeen contrade race bareback horses twice a year.
30 km away
The letter
Greve in Chianti got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.