Picnic experience

With this hike I will take you to admire in all its splendor the blooming irises, a flower that is now part of theidentity of the Chianti region. It is an activity linked to a specific time of the year, late spring, when in May the fields explode with colors and scents.

Although the essence of this flower, long used by French cosmetic companies in Provence, has today lost most of its commercial value, the continuous show that the Iris gives every year is one those not to be missed. In the lands rich in limestone and marl around San Polo in Chianti, a small village nestled in the hills of the upper Val d’Ema and surrounded by woods, vineyards and olive groves, grows the Iris pallida, a variant of Iris Florentina, with a pale purple-blue color, which has found here its ideal habitat.

Immersed in the fragrances that Iris pallida cultivations will give us, we will cross places of ancient traditions, admiring a landscape dotted with parishes and castles. Our loop hike will end with a fantastic picnic right in a flowered field, surrounded by Iris: we will taste 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 “lily”, is actually an Iris?