The parish church of San Donato in Poggio stands in the Chianti hills, along the ancient road that linked the Val di Pesa to the Valdelsa, near the village of San Donato in Poggio. Nestled within one of the most picturesque landscapes of the Florentine countryside, it is one of the finest examples of rural Romanesque architecture in Tuscany.

The earliest written records of the parish church date back to January 989, when the church is mentioned in a document relating to a donation to the Abbey of Passignano. From the early Middle Ages onwards, the parish church played a central role in the area, being situated in a strategic position along one of the main ‘highways’ of the Florentine countryside.

Over the centuries, the church maintained close ties with important religious institutions in the area, such as the Abbey of Passignano and the Abbey of Isola, whilst the village of San Donato in Poggio was repeatedly drawn into the political and military conflicts between Florence and Siena. Indeed, important peace treaties between the two cities were signed here in 1176 and 1255.

The parish church was under the protection of the Guidi Counts, and for a long time its parish priests belonged to the Gherardini family. A medieval hospital also developed around the church, intended to provide care for travellers and pilgrims journeying along the roads of Chianti.

The present building, dating mainly from the 12th century, is a three-nave basilica with three semicircular apses. The structure is built of Alberese stone blocks and forms part of an ancient fortified complex dominated by the bell tower, which is probably older than the church itself.

The buttressed façade is striking for the extraordinary regularity of its masonry and for the understated elegance typical of Tuscan Romanesque architecture. On the right-hand side, ancient blind portals with round arches of Pisan influence remain, whilst the apses are decorated only with simple cornices and narrow splayed single-lancet windows.

The interior of the parish church retains an austere and solemn atmosphere. The three naves are marked by rectangular pillars and covered by wooden trusses that enhance the architectural purity of the building. It is precisely this simplicity that makes the Parish Church of San Donato one of the most significant examples of Romanesque architecture in the Florentine countryside.

The interior also houses precious works of art. In the baptistery, built in 1927 at the base of the bell tower, there is a refined baptismal font attributed to Giovanni Della Robbia from 1513 and a precious triptych by Giovanni del Biondo dated 1375.

Surrounded by the vineyards and landscapes of Chianti, the Parish church of San Donato in Poggio continues to this day to preserve the charm of medieval spirituality and the great Tuscan Romanesque tradition.