Francesco Redi, in Montepulciano, a symposium of studies fundamental for Italian wine history

A figure who combined the profession of physician, rising to become the highest-ranking doctor at the Medici Court, with a passion for literature, in an era when viticulture and wine already played a significant role in both agriculture and society. As historian Zeffiro Ciuffoletti will narrate, and as scholar Francesco Barreca will explain, this was a time marked by both experimentation and divertissement. Art historian Maria Rachele Romeo will highlight this through the still lifes of Bartolomeo Bimbi, while the author of “Bacco in Toscana” - “Bacchus in Tuscany” (1865), the celebrated dithyramb, will be discussed by expert Gabriele Bucchi, who will explain the poetic genre devoted to the praise of Dionysus/Bacchus. The work celebrates Tuscan wines as a daily staple, as scholar Carla Benocci will recall, and as a remedy for both body and soul, as physician Maria Conforti will analyze - with remarkable attention to wine-growing territories and grape varieties, as archaeologist Andrea Zifferero will demonstrate. It also preserves colorful Tuscan expressions, such as describing a wine as one “that could skin a bear”, as scholar Lorella Mangani will note, and pays particular tribute to the city of Montepulciano, proclaimed “the king of all wines”, as writer Raffaele Giannetti will narrate. As Alessandro Regoli, director of WineNews, will emphasize, Redi left us, as a true “testimonial before the term existed”, one of the finest tributes ever paid to Italian wine. All this, and much more, is what Francesco Redi represented for Italian wine, for Tuscany, and especially for Montepulciano. In the city of Vino Nobile, on the 400th anniversary of the birth of the celebrated poet (Arezzo, February 18th, 1626 - Pisa, March 1st, 1697), Consorzio del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and the Municipality of Montepulciano are promoting the symposium “Quando Bacco giunse in Toscana. Francesco Redi: poesia, scienza, arte e cultura del vino nel Granducato degli ultimi Medici e nella Montepulciano medicea” - “When Bacchus came to Tuscany. Francesco Redi: poetry, science, art and wine culture in the Grand Duchy of the last Medici and in Medicean Montepulciano”, a gathering dedicated to science, art and wine, to be held on October 9th at the Palazzo Comunale, overlooking Piazza Grande in the “pearl” of the Renaissance.
From “The God of Wine had chosen to make his joyful dwelling among the Etruscan hills” to “the graceful, divine Moscadello of Montalcino”; from “if there be anyone who does not delight in Vernaccia harvested in Pietrafitta, accursed and forbidden, let him flee from my sight” to “this other robust wine, proud to have been born in the heart of Chianti”; from “when I raise a jar of brilliant Carmignano, such pleasure rains upon my breast that I envy neither ambrosia nor nectar to Jupiter” to “fair Ariadne, with her white hand, pours the manna of Montepulciano”, which is “the king of all wines”, these are just some of the verses that make Bacco in Toscana by Francesco Redi not only the most comprehensive and greatest literary celebration of wine-growing Tuscany, but also a landmark work of Italian wine culture and a still invaluable testimony to the relationship between wine, territory, literature and research. The symposium was conceived precisely to bring this significant chapter of wine history back into the spotlight, highlighting Redi contribution to the creation of a cultural imagination which has spanned centuries and continues to speak to the present day. Indeed, “When Bacchus came to Tuscany. Francesco Redi: poetry, science, art and wine culture in the Grand Duchy of the last Medici and in Medicean Montepulciano” will offer an opportunity for study and dialogue among scholars from different disciplines, who will reassess the figure of the scientist, physician, naturalist and man of letters from Arezzo through the lens of “Bacchus in Tuscany”, a work which in the seventeenth century celebrated the wines, places and identities of Tuscany, helping to cement the prestige of its wine production in the European imagination.
In this context, Montepulciano assumes a central role: not only as a place celebrated in the poem (“Montepulciano is the king of all wines”), but also as a community committed to preserving and promoting a tradition founded on quality, knowledge, and a deep awareness of its roots. The event on October 9th will provide an opportunity to restore an important chapter of wine history and historical research to the wine world, bringing together sources, expertise, and contemporary perspectives. The dialogue between scholars and representatives of the local community will demonstrate how wine culture is not merely a productive activity, but also a heritage of narratives, relationships, languages, and visions that have helped shape the identity of Tuscany and Italy around the world. Throughout the symposium, speakers will explore various aspects of Redi life and legacy: from a historical and literary reading of “Bacchus in Tuscany” to the role the work played in representing wine-growing territories; from the relationship between science, natural observation, and the material culture of the seventeenth century to the European reception of the text. Particular attention will also be given to the symbolic significance of the famous reference to Montepulciano, which over time became one of the most authoritative attestations of the reputation of its wine. The symposium will also address the transmission of sources, archival research, and the ways in which the rediscovery of documents, studies, and interpretations can today help strengthen the identity narrative of Vino Nobile and wine culture more broadly.
The initiative is part of a broader journey which will lead the territory toward the celebrations marking the anniversary No. 400 of Redi birth in 2027, culminating in a major international exhibition, scheduled from March 20th to June 20th, dedicated to Francesco Redi and his Bacco in Toscana (which will also feature rare and original books from the WineNews collection). A cultural project with an international scope, the exhibition will pay tribute to the author who was the first to help establish Tuscan wine as a literary, cultural, and identity-defining heritage, bringing the name of Montepulciano, along with Italian wines, to the most prestigious courts of Europe. And beyond Europe as well, as recent historical research and accounts have shown.