| The
existence of Coiano goes back to the year 1000.
In the Middle
ages it became an important stop for pilgrims crossing
Italy on their way to Rome finding rest and refreshment in
the
peace and beauty of these lands.
The castle with its magnificent
romanesque parish stands along the way of "via Francigena",
in the stretch from San Miniato to San Gimignano.
Surrounded by an estate of more than 300 hectares cultivated
in vineyards, olive groves and in part for pasture, the complex
of the Castle and of the Farm is constituted by the old villa
master and of a series of colonial houses positioned in a
charming natural frame, with splendid woods and three lovely
lakes.
Belonging in the past to some of the most noble florentine
families among which the "Davanzati", the "Albizi" and
the "Pucci", the castle was famous ever since the
year 1300 for the quality of its wine and the goodness of
its oil, that today, like then represents the farm's major
resourse.
For almost all of the middle ages this road
remained the only access possible for pilgrims or travellers
to use for crossing Italy on their way to Rome, as proof,
a list of places was provided by the Archbishop of Canterbury
in his journey from London to Rome at the end of the 10th
Century.
Even
the founding of the Castle must be linked to the existence of this important
road artery and the first use of the villa was probably a kind of military
base that had among its duties that of collecting the taxes for the crossing
of Francegena.
Therefore at first acting as a customs garrison, the Castle, later
was used for other purposes, mainly argicultural.
It distinguished itself during
the year 1300 for its production of oil and wine.
A letter dated "Coiano,
30th January 1383" writes, found a palace by Davanzati in "Via Porta
Rossa" in Florence and is signed by the farmerf Migliorato di Ser Riccomanno
that informs us of the excellent quality of these products; its consumptionf
writes the farmer, "is not for family use."
It was infact some of the most noble florentine families to
boast of their personal possessions from these lands.
The castle belonged in
the past to the Albizi, the Venturi, and the Masetti to later pass onto the
ecletic Elia Volpi, the restorer painter and fine connaisseur of florentine
art in the year 1921.
In the second half of the 1800 the Countess Carlotta
Masetti who extravagantly modernized the wine industry of Coiano, so much
that the farm was awarded a gold medal in 1885 in the governing pagent.
Left
untouched
is the most ancient part of the cellar that was destined for ageing wine
and positioned 18 meters deep; that still today hosts gastronomy fairs
and a variety
of activities linked to wine and its history. |