From “I delitti del BarLume” to “La Regina dei Sentieri”, Maremma imortalized by Marco Malvaldi

“Novelists do not live by wine alone”, but anyway, for the writing of this mystery novel set among the sun-drenched vineyards of the Tuscan Maremma, the authors curiously thank Albiera Antinori, president of Marchesi Antinori, and Vittorio Piozzo di Rosignano, head of Castello del Terriccio, “for providing continuous inspiration through the products of their wineries”, icons of Tuscan wine, but also Ivo Basile, historical communication manager of Sicilian brand Tasca d’Almerita, and Gianluca Putzolu, commercial director of Le Macchiole, a company which helped shape the history of Bolgheri, “for letting us taste many fundamental concepts of the world we’re talking about”. And, moreover, thanks go to Adriana Falsone, “because I don’t know how many publishing houses have a sommelier”, and restaurateurs Augusto Cava and Franco Manna, “who introduced us to wine when we were university students, during epic evenings at their restaurants”. This will be explained, as they do in their latest novel “La Regina dei Sentieri” - “The Queen of the Trails”, published by Sellerio Editore, by Marco Malvaldi and Samantha Bruzzone (reviewed by WineNews in 2024 upon its release), on August 1st at the international literary festival “Una Montagna di Libri” - “A Mountain of Books”, in Cortina d’Ampezzo. The event will be held at the Grand Hotel Savoia and will blend wine, territory, and literature, featuring a tasting of Castello del Terriccio wines led by Vittorio Piozzo di Rosignano, who will converse with the authors alongside Francesco Chiamulera, creator and curator of the festival.
In “La Regina dei Sentieri”, Malvaldi - one of Italy’s most beloved writers, known for the famous novels that inspired the hit Tv series “I delitti del BarLume”, also set in the Maremma and particularly on Elba Island, as well as “Il borghese Pellegrino” featuring the “father” of Italian cuisine, Pellegrino Artusi - and Bruzzone, partners in life and work, introduce Corinna Stelea, a judicial police superintendent, and her friend Serena Martini, a chemist, mother, and expert sommelier. Together, they investigate a cold case that has resurfaced in the Maremma, a region rich in tradition and enhanced by modern agri-tourism. Corinna, one meter and ninety of professionalism and tenacity, is assigned the case for work; Serena, multidimensional out of necessity, stumbles into the affair while job hunting. The case begins when an old Ape (three-wheeled vehicle) emerges from a dried-up pond inside the Tegolaia Winery, a vast estate near Bolgheri recently acquired by a Dutch multinational. The vehicle once roamed the vineyard rows driven by the colorful Marquis Crisante Olivieri Frangipane, owner of a much smaller winery known for producing high-quality bottles (the family crest reads “winemakers since 1240”). The discovery of the Ape, years after the nobleman’s disappearance, confirms his likely death. But what kind of death? Corinna, tasked with uncovering the truth, and Serena, reluctantly involved, have no doubts, especially since Frangipane’s character and habits were worlds apart from the corporate viticulture environment. The investigation focuses on the clash between marketing and tradition; and it is wine, properly used and tasted in good company that ultimately reveals the path to the solution.
Following the 2024 meeting with Luciano Ferraro, deputy director of “Corriere della Sera” and curator of guide “I Migliori 100 Vini e Vignaioli d’Italia” - “The 100 Best Wines and Winemakers of Italy”, Castello del Terriccio returns to Cortina for another chapter in the dialogue between wine and literature. This event celebrates a strong, authentic Tuscan identity, full of stories to tell and “taste,” which has always inspired writers, if one just thinks about Maremma and the great poet Giosuè Carducci, the first Italian to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1906, whose name is forever linked to Bolgheri and its iconic Viale dei Cipressi, featured in the poem “Davanti San Guido”, or Dante Alighieri, Luciano Bianciardi, Carlo Cassola, and Italo Calvino without forgetting the Macchiaioli artists, who often chose this region as the subject of their most famous paintings.
The connection between literature and Castello del Terriccio is not new. One of the largest agricultural estates in Tuscany and Italy, it spans 1,500 hectares along the northern edge of the Tuscan Maremma near Bolgheri, with 60 hectares of vineyards producing wines like Lupicaia, Castello del Terriccio, and Tassinaia, 40 hectares of olive groves, and the rest consisting of forest, Mediterranean scrub, farmland, and pastures where Limousine cattle roam freely. At its heart lies a small historic village, home to the Terraforte restaurant with chef Cristiano Tomei and the guest house Villa La Marrana, offering spectacular views of the sea and the Tuscan archipelago islands. Back in 2015, thanks to the vision of Gian Annibale Rossi di Medelana, historic patron of Castello del Terriccio and creator of Lupicaia, the “Premio Terriccio – Il Romanzo della Storia” - “Terriccio Award – The Novel of History” arose, one of Italy’s first initiatives dedicated to historical narration, which brought many great Italian and international writers to the Maremma. Continuing this cultural mission, his grandson Vittorio Piozzo di Rosignano has carried on the legacy, initiating the collaboration with “Una Montagna di Libri” to bring authors and personalities to Cortina who share a passion for wine and have contributed to its valorization.