The first historical evidence is found in a parchment of 1010 preserved in the Abbey of San Lorenzo in Coltibuono, in that document it is called plebes Sanctae Mariae quae dicitur Novella – the term novella in the Middle Ages was used to indicate a new piece of cultivated land.
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According to the Consortium, the fame of the black rooster and the similarity with the coloured rooster could generate, in consumer perception, a link between the two brands, so much so that it could give an undue advantage to the Lazio company. A company that, for its part, emphasized the difference between the two roosters: while the black rooster is a collective brand and designates a series of red wines that come from Chianti, the coloured rooster is an individual brand relating to a Vermentino produced in Gallura, an area of Sardinia which owes its name to the same bird. Asked to rule on the request for registration of the coloured rooster, the European Intellectual Property Office compared the two trademarks and, essentially agreeing with the arguments from Chianti, rejected it. As a result, the Lazio company asked the European Court to rule on the refusal of registration.
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The Castle has been owned since 1964 by the Matta family, who in the 1980s began in the accommodation business with six apartments inside the castle. Currently there are 16 guestrooms, including those inside the castle and the suites in the rectory. Under the walls we find an enchanting swimming pool with a panoramic view over the valley, a delight for the eyes.
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Amongst the great variety of temporal and spiritual potentates that dot the history of Italy, the Holy Roman Emperor Otto III passed through here (remembered by the Edict of Fonterutoli of 998 which put an end to the territorial conflicts of the dioceses of Siena, Arezzo and Fiesole), then Pope Leo X who left Rome and stopped in Castellina to meet the freshly nominated King of France in 1515; here came the Guelph troops who came down from Florence for the Battle of Montaperti (4 September 1260) and were soundly defeated; an earthquake for the European geopolitical scenario in favour of the Empire and the Republic of Siena. We also remember how Filippo Brunelleschi passed here to remodel the fortresses of Castellina, Staggia and Rencine. We also recall, for various reasons, various famous personalities who were here for work or residence, such as Niccolò Machiavelli, Jacopo della Quercia, Lisa Gherardini and Michelangelo Buonarroti.
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The wine cellar visit is structured as a ‘wine experience’: technical, emotive, sophisticated. The goal is to experience it without predefined paths, passing through the vinification, the vat, the concept of working with gravitational flow. Finally, the curtain opens on the barriccaia, a theatrical scenography with details that condense into a refined show.
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Volpaia currently has 33 inhabitants and 4 restaurants: the properties have now been reunited in large part by the Mascheroni Stianti family. In addition to the prestigious winery there is also a farmhouse, a restaurant and a bakery. The vegetables that arrive on the Castle’s tables come from half a hectare of a strictly organic vegetable garden. In fact, since 2000, the Volpaia winery too has been certified as organic.
The winery extends within the village buildings, connected by an engineering masterpiece: an underground wine pipeline, which goes under the streets of the town.
Despite the name of his company, “Corto Circuito” or “Short Circuit”, there is no shortage of work for this company which installs and maintains and repairs industrial and domestic electrical systems in Umbria and Tuscany and boasts an ever-growing number of clients in the Valdichiana.
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On an unusually hot afternoon at the end of January I met Giovanna Florio, a holistic practitioner and naturopath and now a very dear friend. Dynamic, smiling and inspired, Giovanna constantly refreshes her methods to bring the best techniques in relaxation for the well-being of body and mind to her studio in Via Borgaccio in Poggibonsi.
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BY SIMONE BANDINI We are with Silvia and Marco Barneschi at the Podere La Piaggia: and around a rugged rustic wooden table we taste their new extra virgin olive oil on a bruschetta, before trying other ‘magic’ bottles of oil flavoured in the old fashioned way. To get to the two siblings we went down […]
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BY GIOVANNI SALVIETTI This morning in Colle di Val d’Elsa we met a very nice ‘type’: his name is Dante and he is a four-year-old bracco Italiano dog. He was visiting the San Marziale Veterinary Clinic for a routine checkup. Immediately at ease, he showed an exceptionally sweet and nice disposition! We were literally enchanted […]
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BY GIOVANNI SALVIETTI We already looked at the Villa Solissimo (See VL Chianti and Valdelsa, Summer 2020) with them; in this issue we are going to learn of a technique that can bring great benefits even on a small scale, in single homes or condominiums. Thanks to a completely natural insulating material an apartment can […]
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BY SIMONE BANDINI Our journey to discover the Radda in Chianti area continues – begun with the Mayor Pier Paolo Mugnaini and architect Daniele Barbucci – and in particular its winemaking tradition. Let’s take a cue from the recent awards that have fallen like rain on local producers: seven vineyards awarded three glasses by the […]
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DI SIMONE BANDINI In order for a real, physical place to maintain its symbolic relevance alongside its architectural shape, its space must be open – with precise exchanges between material and transcendental reality. I realize intuitively and suddenly that here – at the Rocca di Staggia – I am in one of these places. Donatella […]
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BY GIOVANNI SALVIETTI In autumn, when the trees undress themselves, and let their leaves fall, as if they were daughters making light silk dresses for themselves, the olive tree bears its fruits created with difficulty in a long-awaited gestation. Thanks to an ancient process of transformation its liquid gold is distilled: extra virgin olive oil, […]
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DI GIOVANNI SALVIETTI Poggibonsi, early 20th Century, Dei Natale is known throughout the town for its vinegar plant: its demijohns at the ready and also takes care of hardware, guns and knives, all in Via Maestra in the heart of the commercial district of that era. We talk to the current owners of the business, […]
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At the Il Roseto nursery with Luca and Sabrina the couple who own it with their collaborators, Nike and Sabrina we discovery of the rose . . .
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