Gaiole in Chianti is a comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

(municipality) in the Province of Siena

Province of Siena

The Province of Siena is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Siena.It has an area of 3,821 km² , and a total population of 252,288 . There are 36 comuni in the province...

 in the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 region Tuscany

Tuscany

Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....

, located about 40 km southeast of Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

 and about 15 km northeast of Siena

Siena

Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...

. The American magazine Forbes

Forbes

Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...

named it number one in its list of "Europe's Most Idyllic Places To Live."

Each year, generally in March, a bicycle race is held, known as L'Eroica

Monte Paschi Eroica

The Montepaschi Strade Bianche, formerly known as Monte Paschi Eroica, is a road bicycle race held annually near Siena, in the region of Tuscany, Italy. The race was first organised in 2007 as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour and was held in October. From 2008 on the event has found a space in...

. The special feature of this race is the white gravel roads of the Sienna region.

Main sights

• Castle of Brolio (11th century).
• Abbey of Coltibuono
• Pieve
  Pieve
  In the Middle Ages, a pieve was a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without baptisteries depended.The Italian word pieve is descended from Latin plebs which, after the expansion of Christianity in Italy, was applied to the community of baptized people...
  
  of San Marcellino, of medieval origin. It was mostly rebuilt in the 14th century.
• Pieve of San Polo Rosso, dating from the 12th century. It is now part of a 14th century defensive structure. The interior has a nave with two aisles and an apse.
• Pieve of San Giusto in Salcio
• Romanesque Pieve of Santa Maria a Spaltenna, known from 1030.
• Pieve of San Bartolomeo a Vertine (11th century). It was once home of an early work by Simone Martini
  Simone Martini
  Simone Martini was an Italian painter born in Siena.He was a major figure in the development of early Italian painting and greatly influenced the development of the International Gothic style....
  
   and a triptych by Bicci di Lorenzo
  Bicci di Lorenzo
  Bicci di Lorenzo was an Italian painter and sculptor, active in Florence.He was born in Florence in 1373, the son of the painter, Lorenzo di Bicci, whose workshop he joined. He married in 1418, and in 1424 was registered in the Guild of Painters at Florence. His son, Neri di Bicci was also a...
  
  , now in the Siena Pinacoteca. Some fragmentary medieval frescoes still remain on exhibit today.
• Pieve of San Vincenti.

External links

• Official website
• Chianti historical site (Tourist Information Office)