Florence and wine. A non-conventional tour

May is an eventful month in Florence and one of these events is called Wine Town. During two nights, inside some courtyards of the noble families’ palaces, some stands are set up for tastings, so that people can get to know and appreciate these extraordinary local products.

Still on the subject of wine we would like to introduce you a very original tour of Florence. As we are tour guides, we love to visit the city and to reveal all its secrets to visitors and this tour is about a very interesting, old, lost tradition and obviously… about wine!

Back in time

During the XVII century the Florentine noble families converted their commercial activities in the production of agricultural goods, such as red wine. And some of them began to sell wine directly to the consumers, by avoiding the intermediaries.

This story is about small doors…

In some streets of Florence it is possible to see small wooden doors with stone frames, embedded in the walls of some buildings. They are not access doors, but narrow openings that connected the inside to the outside of the palace. These small doors, or buchette del vino, as the Florentines call them, were in fact used by the families to distribute the bottles of wine.

Beyond their curious function, these mini doors are little treasures of the city and what follows is a tour in 5 steps that will allow you to discover them. On the way you will able to observe many architectural masterpieces of the city.

1. Via de Giglio
It’s not far from the Santa Maria Novella train station and it’s where you can find the first buchetta. From there walk to via Panzani, towards the Duomo and then turn right in via de’ Rondinelli.

2. Palazzo Antinori
Once you arrive at the Palace Antinori, walk along its right side, in via del Trebbio and there you will find the second buchetta of your tour.

3. Via delle Belle Donne
Walk all the way long and at the end turn left in via delle Belle Donne. At the corner with via del Sole and via della Spada you will find the third buchetta.

4. Borgo Pinti
Now you should walk for a while… get to Palazzo Strozzi (very close to via delle Belle Donne), cross Piazza della Repubblica and go straight in via del Corso. Walk straight in Borgo degli Albizi and, half-way, on your right, you will find a very particular buchetta, as you can see in the photo.

5. Via Pietrapiana
Go straight on Borgo degli Albizi, cross piazza Salvemini and take via Pietrapiana. Here you will find the last buchetta of our tour…

But you can find many other little wine doors around the city, as there are many other secrets of our wonderful town to discover. If you want to discover the with us book a tour with us or contact us for any question about Florence!