BADIA A COLTIBUONO, Gaiole in Chianti

Badia a Coltibuono is about one thousand years old but its prehistory takes us back to Estrucan times and beyond. As we know it today, Badia a Coltibuono (which means Abbey of the Good Harvest), dates from the middle of the eleventh century. In 1051 the monks of the Vallombrosan Order, a Tuscan reform of the Benedictines, founded the Abbey and also began planting the first vineyards in the Upper Chianti area. Over the centuries they extended their vast land holdings to include many thousands of acres and developed a flourishing wine production and commerce. In 1810, when Tuscany was under Napoleonic rule, the monks were forced to leave Coltibuono and the monastery was secularized. The estate was first sold by lottery and then in 1846, Coltibuono was bought by Guido Giuntini, a Florentine banker and great grandfather of Piero Stucchi-Prinetti, the present owner.