Tenuta San Guido and Cnr make an “alliance” for the future of Viale dei Cipressi di Bolgheri

If there is an epic poet of beauty in nature, that is Giosuè Carducci. To the great poet, first Italian to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature, Bolgheri is indissolubly linked, among the most prestigious wine territories in the world, whose symbol is Viale dei Cipressi which “high and frank go from San Guido in a double row”: Italian national monument, wanted in the XIX century by Count Guido Alberto della Gherardesca, to which the choice of cypresses is due, which is beautiful, but mainly practical because motivated by the fact that buffaloes ate all other plants, the verses in the poem “Davanti San Guido” made this Viale the most famous in the world, from which, among vineyards, one can see the light blue of the sea of Tuscany shining. And which now, to conserve so much beauty and continue to be a symbol of Italy has some exceptional custodians such as the historical Tenuta San Guido, “cradle” of Sassicaia to which the territory owes the beginning of its fame, and which is located exactly in front of the Oratory of San Guido, at the beginning of the Viale, and Istituto per la Protezione Sostenibile delle Piante del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Ipsp-Cnr) – Institute for Sustainable Protection of the National Committee of Research (Ipsp-Cnr) which made an “alliance” to give life to an innovative research project for the defense and safeguard of trees of monumental Viale. A project, lasting five years (2025-2029) foreseeing an articulated program of phytosanitary monitoring, specialist education, assistance to sanitary reclamation of cypresses, and reintegration of trees with native clones, selected for the resistance to cortical canker.
If, for Bolgheri, there is a before, and an after Carducci, there is also a be a before and after Sassicaia, from which the dream to literally create this territory began over 50 years ago, and continues to be brought forward by family Incisa della Rocchetta, which safeguards the history of Tenuta San Guido along the famous Viale dei Cipressi representing a naturalistic and landscape heritage of inestimable value. “Companies are called to be protagonist of a positive change for the environment and society - underlines Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta dealing with external relations of Tenuta San Guido – be rooted in a territory means also taking care of it contributing to its protection and valorization. These are values to which our family always believed in, and, in this way, my father Nicolò, and my grandfather Mario Incisa della Rocchetta meant, this last founder of the company, who, in 1959, established Rifugio Faunistico di Bolgheri - Padule di Bolgheri Wildlife Refuge, an ante-litteram model of environmental conservation”. In the 2,500 hectares of the company, the balance between man and nature developed, therefore, a unique biosystem, today known all over the world not only for wines, but also for the livestock of thoroughbred horses of Race Dormello-Olgiata, and the natural reserve Padule di Bolgheri Wildlife Refuge.
With the new initiative, Tenuta San Guido adnd Ipsp-Cnr unite their strengths to ensure the protection and redevelopment of this green monument by promoting targeted actions, which are based on rigorous scientific studies. “We are proud to start this collaboration with an institution of excellence such as Cnr - explains Alessandro Berlingieri, president Tenuta San Guido - the protection of Viale dei Cipressi is one of our priorities, and we believe that this initiative can ensure the conservation of this heritage for the future generations”. Also Cnr expresses great satisfaction for the starting of the project: “Our aim is to supply competences and scientific tools to fight illnesses threatening the cypress with particular attention to cortical canker – underlines Roberto Danti, researcher of Ipsp-Cnr - this project represents a fundamental step for the safeguard of Viale dei Cipressi, and for the promotion of sustainable strategies in the management of monumental green”.
Following the spirit which has always characterized it, Tenuta San Guido founds and supports a project which not only preserves a landscape symbol of Tuscany in the world, but it represents a concrete example of business environmental responsibility. The project foresees, among the various activities, a systematic monitoring of the health of trees, the education of operators specializing in phytosanitary management, and the replacement of compromised plants with new little plants got by selected clones. A concrete and innovative example to fight the illnesses threatening this extraordinary type of tree, perfect synthesis of Italian beauty of which wine is a “mean” to explain it to the world.