2015 ITALY Chianti 32 - Napoleon Meets Medicis in Chianti

We had an 08:45 start toward the town of Gaiole in the Chianti region. It was cool and cloudy, but no rain. We passed a roadside chapel, a huge WW2 cemetery, and the "gateway" to Chianti.

The road was narrow, curvy, and crowded. Sunday morning bicyclers were precariously sharing the space. Chef John said he, along with others from a previous tour, had bicycled this same way a few years back. We were glad that was not our on agenda.

We arrived at 10:00 to Badia a Coltibuono (translates to Abbey of the Good Harvest). Bells were ringing in abbey tower. This complex was founded in 1051 (that is almost 1000 years old!!!) as a Benedictine monastery providing hospitality to wayfarers. Here also were planted the first grapevines in upper Chianti.

It had the patronage of Lorenzo de Medici and housed important manuscripts and deeds of the time (now in archives in Florence).

Since 1846, it has been owned by the Stucchi-Prinetti family (a branch of the Medici family). Currently there is a small chapel, gift shop, winery with tasting room, garden, B&B, restaurant, and cooking class center. Read more at: http://en.coltibuono.com/origins  and  http://john.salvi.free.fr/article4.html .

An old dog greeted us in the courtyard with tale wagging.
Hostess Aurora met us there also.

I offered some history above, but she added that around 1810 the land was under Napoleonic rule for 40 years. In that period the monks were forced to leave the abbey, their possessions sold off, and the monastery secularized.

We began at the original old well.

We walked through several halls and rooms with wonderful works of art, antiques, and furniture. One room was particularly beautiful and inspiring. It had ancient frescoes painted on the wall. An elderly gentleman was quietly reflecting as he waited for his wife to return from somewhere. We decided not to enter and bother his reverie.

Next we toured the wine cellars (http://www.cellartours.com/italy/italian-wineries/badia-a-coltibuono-winery.html). Their wine is organically produced and they use a lot of Sangiovese grapes, which is one of my very faves.

We passed through a line of huge aging barrels. Each holds 2,450 liters or 3,000 bottles of wine.

Then we perused rooms filled floor to ceiling with bottled wines that continue to age. Cobwebs and dust filled every crevice. Some bottles were VERY old and may never be opened. In one area bottles were labeled by year of bottling. Mike found his year 1945. In two days they would both be 70 years old.

At the end of the tour, we had a wine tasting of their local wares. Then we enthusiastically hurried to cooking class. Read about this in the next blog entry.


After class we wandered through the reconstructed, traditional Italianate gardens. Some were decorative and some grew veggies for use in classes and the restaurant. Mike snitched some of their muscat grapes. They also grow olive trees here.

Our last stop at Badia a Coltibuono was to see the chapel. It was quite lovely and serene, especially the ceiling. Some of our group stopped to light a candle.