Characteristics

Its climate is of the continental type, with relatively cold temperatures in winter—lower than 4 to 5° C. (39-41º F.)—and unusually hot dry summers, with temperatures frequently above 35° C. Temperatures can change substantially during the span of a single day, in part because of variations in altitudes, ranging from250 meters(820 feet) above sea level to 600 and even more than800 inthe Chianti Mountains. Annual rainfall is around 700 to800 millimeters, with rain falling primarily in late autumn and in the spring.

Two-thirds of the entire territory is covered with woods; oak is almost everywhere, while chestnut woods are found mainly in the eastern portion of the territory. Conifers are concentrated on the higher elevations and there are pine groves on the low hills south of Florence.