Greve in Chianti: The Antiques and Collectors’ Fair has arrived!

A hugely popular event that has placed Greve in Chianti among the top ten antiques fairs in Italy, this has become an annual fixture in the diary for many. Held in the grand - albeit unusually-shaped - main square of Greve (Piazza Matteotti) on Easter Monday, this market holds great appeal for many reasons, one being the setting. With its natural, unparalleled charm, one would be forgiven for thinking that Piazza Matteotti had been built especially for this occasion. Indeed, used for centuries as an outdoor marketplace, treasure hunters would be hard pushed to name a more idyllic foraging ground than this Piazza.

With the organisers ever mindful that the event experienced a sharp period of decline in the 1990s, visitors will now only ever find items that have been very carefully selected from highly-regarded antique collectors, many of whom come from far and wide to attend this prestigious fair.
Better licensing means that visitors to Greve’s market stalls will no longer be faced with junk, fakes and other dubious “finds”; instead they will find a good offering of genuine antiques and very good copies (identified by the vendors as such!), not to mention a fine selection of jewellery for ladies who love the quality and luxury that give vintage pieces their distinctly upper-class feel.

There’ll be antique and reproduction rustic furniture, old work tools from the cellar - dug up and dusted off, but nevertheless in mint condition - genuine artefacts brought from farms and vineyards, ceramics, glassware and cutlery for a romantic table setting and a very good range of embroidered linen (perhaps an untouched trousseau from a failed marriage).

Then we have sepia paintings, watercolours, vintage postcards (full of insight into how we lived in the past and complete with shaky handwriting), out-of-print books for the attentive book collector, silver and gold coins from every corner of the globe and much, much more. In the hope that the rain will stay off for the event, visitors can grab themselves a good old-fashioned Tuscan snack in the form of a porchetta (roasted suckling pig) sandwich, some pecorino cheese and - since we’re in the right place for it - a good glass of red!

(Portions of this article first appeared in "Toscana & Chianti News")
ShareThis