Garden vineyards, yesterday and today, a source of livelihood for Villas, Castles and historic homes

In the past, since Roman times, as excavations in Pompeii have revealed, agriculture and wine production were an integral part of the villa system, a source of livelihood for owners and farmers. It continued in the Middle Ages, in the feudal Estates around the Castles or Courts along the Po River, the Castelli Romani, the Masserie in Puglia, the Sicilian Bagli, and also in the times of maximum splendor, such as the Medici Villas, favorite refuges of the Medici family in the Tuscan countryside (where “The landscape of the Chianti Classico farm-villa system” is a UNESCO candidate, as are the rest of the examples cited here), the Venetian Villas, built by Venetian nobles during Venice’s expansion into the hinterland, the Savoy Villas in Piedmont, or the Royal residences scattered throughout the Italian countryside, where, following the example of the “Potager du Roi”, the great “King’s vegetable garden” at the Palace of Versailles, the vegetable gardens were a “natural pantry” for sumptuous banquets. It is still the same today. The garden-vineyards, as well as vegetable gardens, orchards and olive groves, are being restored more and more in Villas, Castles and historic homes, many of which are actually wineries or belong to prestigious companies. The reason is that even today, proceeds from the sale of their fruits - which also represent an “attraction” for visitors who pay an entrance fee to admire the monumental greenery, or which become an opportunity to organize cultural events around them - help to maintain these prestigious symbols of the Italian cultural heritage, as conservation costs are very high for the owners, whether public or private.
Considering the private sector, especially, according to the 5th Report of the Observatory of Private Cultural Heritage, created by the Foundation for Economic and Social Research ETS, and promoted by ADSI-Associazione Dimore Storiche Italiane, Confagricoltura, Confedilizia and Istituto per il Credito Sportivo e Culturale S.p.A, which was presented recently in Rome, of the more than 43.000 heritage listed assets in Italy, more than 19.000 are managed businesses of structured or occasional production activities (ATECO code). In addition to these, there are more than 10.500 owners who are planning, or would like to start a commercial activity, which brings the total to almost 30.000 workers potentially active in the hospitality, catering, museum activities and event organization sectors. The data is significant as it confirms the historic residences sector represents 0.6% of the total active businesses in Italy, and a tenth of the small Italian businesses operating in the hospitality and catering sectors. The growth potential of these activities is enormous. In 2023 alone, they accommodated 34 million visitors, which is an exceptional increase compared to previous years. Furthermore, between ordinary and extraordinary restoration, it has been estimated that the owners have spent more than 1.9 billion euros, contributing to over a tenth of the increase in the Italian GDP.
The residences are members of the Associazione Dimore Storiche Italiane, association of historical Italian residences (ADSI), cultural assets protected by the State and “listed”, and acknowledged as culturally important for the community. They are private residences and are entrusted to the responsibility of the owners who not only manage their conservation, but live there and keep them alive, as part of the cultural and also productive and economic fabric. In addition to maintaining the property, the owner is the conservator and transmitter of ancient traditions, customs and memories. Historic homes are a vast and heterogeneous heritage. They are houses and palaces, such as the 16th century Palazzo Lana Berlucchi in Franciacorta, where the Ziliani family preserves the history of the first Franciacorta in its wine cellars, or the Renaissance Palazzo Contucci, in Piazza Grande in Montepulciano and its historic wine cellars of Vino Nobile in the “city” of Poliziano. There are Villas and Castles, such as Villa Serego Alighieri, Villa Veneta in Valpolicella Classica, which belongs to the Counts Serego Alighieri, descendants of the Supreme Poet Dante Alighieri, and in the Masi Group, Villa Medicea in Artimino, in the vineyard-covered hills of Carmignano, Villa Cusona in San Gimignano of the noble Guicciardini Strozzi family among the Vernaccia vineyards, Villa Le Corti in the heart of Chianti Classico, owned by the Corsini Princes, the 18th century Villa della Tenuta La Marchesa in Gavi, Villa Tasca between Palermo and Monreale, the cradle of social and artistic life in the area from the mid-19th century, which inspired Wagner to write the third act of “Parsifal”, owned by the Tasca family of Tasca d’Almerita, the medieval Castel Mareccio, surrounded by vineyards in Bolzano, the Castagneto Carducci Castle, which belonged to Count Ugolino della Gherardesca, protagonist of one of the most famous Cantos of Dante’s “Divine Comedy”, and still owned by the historic Bolgheri family, the ancient Banfi Castle in Montalcino, in the strongholds of the Republic of Siena, now among the Brunello vineyards, the Castles where the history of Chianti Classico was written, such as Castello di Brolio of Barone Ricasoli and Castello di Fonterutoli of the Mazzei family, or the historic manors among the vineyards of Langhe, Roero and Monferrato such as Castello di Gabiano. Plus, the gardens and agricultural Estates, distributed throughout the Country, a large number also in rural areas and small villages, such as Badia a Coltibuono, a Vallombrosan Abbey from the year 1000, also in Chianti Classico, owned by the Stucchi Prinetti family, or Tenuta Bossi dei Marchesi Gondi in Chianti Rufina, or Tenuta di Pietra Porzia in Frascati, in the Castelli Romani.
Each of these assets has a precise identity linked to its history, its cultural and artistic value and the close connection with its territory. Wine, and the other products of our agriculture are the “medium” that tell their story.