Where is Chianti, is Florence in Tuscany?

Among the first questions I get asked on my Tuscany wine tours are: is Chianti in Tuscany, is Florence in Tuscany? So here’s the answer.

Chianti is a geographical area located south of Florence in central Italy. Chianti and Florence are both to be found in Tuscany which is one of Italy’s twenty political regions. Florence is the capital of Tuscany. See the map below, Tuscany in brown and dot in the middle is Chianti.

Due to Italy’s highly varied geography, the twenty regions also offer very different scenery, not to mention culture. Tuscany has been blessed by the gods, and is Italy’s (and perhaps the world’s) richest region in terms of art, architecture and culture. Not to mention the gorgeous scenery of Chianti and Val d’Orcia.

Excellent wines are produced here too, the most famous being Chianti and Brunello. There’s also an important amount of light industry and services. In fact though we know Tuscany best for tourism, culture and wine, these are secondary in gross income to industry.

Sergio Ceccherini