Picnic experience

With this hike I take you to admire in all its splendor the iris bloom, a flower that is now part of theidentity of the Chianti region. It is linked to a specific time of year, late spring, when in May the fields explode with color and fragrance. Although the essence of this flower, long employed by the French cosmetic houses of Provence, has now lost much of its commercial value, the continuous spectacle that the iris gives each year is one not to be missed. In the galestro-rich lands surrounding San Polo in Chianti, a small village nestled in the hills of the upper Val d’Ema and surrounded by forests, vineyards and olive groves, growsIris pallida, a variant ofIris florentina with a pale purple-blue color that has found its ideal environment here. Immersed in the fragrances that the cultivations of Iris pallida will give us, we will pass through places of ancient traditions, admiring a landscape dotted with parish churches and castles. We will end our loop hike with a fantastic picnic right in a flowering field, surrounded by irises: we will enjoy gourmet specialties and iris beer, made and served by a local farm. PS: Did you know that even the heraldic symbol in the coat of arms of Florence, known as the “lily,” is actually an iris?