San Fabiano
Encyclopedia
San Fabiano is a 13th century castle and wine producing farm estate in Monteroni d'Arbia
, Siena
, Italy
, built by king Charles of Anjou. A church on the estate dates to 867 AD and is dedicated to Pope Fabian
, one of the first Christian martyrs killed in the Coliseum. It is adjacent to two rivers, the Arbia River and the Biena River, and surrounded by 1800 acres (7 km²) of vineyards, oak forests, durum wheat fields and corn fields.
The estate's vineyard produces Bianco d’Arbia wine, a D.O.C.
wine made with Trebbiano
grapes, and a red wine made from San Giovese grapes. In total some 1,000 bottles per year are currently produced.
When Count Giuseppe Fiorentini
bought the San Fabiano farm estate, there were some 300 people farming the land, producing 180,000 liters of wine yearly, breeding Chianina
cows, producing meat for the local specialty, the Fiorentina steak, pigs, pheasants and chickens. In 1956, Fiorentini acquired better equipment and reduced the agricultural activities to a core business of crops.
In 1963, the Italian government introduced drastic reforms of the agricultural regulations, requiring estate owners and landlords to hire the farmers working the land, and pay them a salary. The national reform ended the centennial rules of mezzadria, a system where landowners could have farmers (contadini) living in the farmhouses and working the land, splitting the output of their work 50/50 with the landlord instead of paying rent and receiving salaries. As a result of the reforms, the farmers were forced to leave the land and twenty-five farmhouses around the castle were abandoned. The farmhouses remained unoccupied for some 30 years. Some of them have been restored by the Fiorentini brothers and some have been sold to pay inheritance taxes.
In the 1970s, a socialist Italian government eased restrictions on import of Cuban cigars, which forced the closure of the Kentucky Tuscan Cigars manufacturing plant on the castle grounds.
Monteroni d'Arbia
Monteroni d'Arbia is a comune in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 60 km south of Florence and about 13 km southeast of Siena in the area known as the Crete Senesi. It takes its names from the Arbia torrent, a tributary of the Ombrone River.-Main...
, Siena
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, built by king Charles of Anjou. A church on the estate dates to 867 AD and is dedicated to Pope Fabian
Pope Fabian
Pope Fabian was Pope from January 10, 236 to January 20, 250, succeeding Pope Anterus.Eusebius of Caesarea relates how the Christians, having assembled in Rome to elect a new bishop, saw a dove alight upon the head of Fabian, a layman and stranger to the city, who was thus marked out for this...
, one of the first Christian martyrs killed in the Coliseum. It is adjacent to two rivers, the Arbia River and the Biena River, and surrounded by 1800 acres (7 km²) of vineyards, oak forests, durum wheat fields and corn fields.
The estate's vineyard produces Bianco d’Arbia wine, a D.O.C.
Denominazione di Origine Controllata
Denominazione di origine controllata is a quality assurance label for food products, especially wines and various formaggi . It is modelled after the French AOC...
wine made with Trebbiano
Trebbiano
Trebbiano is the second most widely planted grape in the world. It gives good yields, but makes undistinguished wine at best. It can be fresh and fruity, but does not keep long. Its high acidity makes it important in Cognac production...
grapes, and a red wine made from San Giovese grapes. In total some 1,000 bottles per year are currently produced.
When Count Giuseppe Fiorentini
Fiorentini
The Fiorentini are a noble Italian family from the Valsugana.Engineer Filippo Fiorentini founded the Fiorentini & C. S.p.A. factory of excavators in 1919 in Rome, Italy. He imported and distributed construction equipment. During the time of Fascism, restrictions banned import and Ing...
bought the San Fabiano farm estate, there were some 300 people farming the land, producing 180,000 liters of wine yearly, breeding Chianina
Chianina
The Chianina is an Italian breed of cattle, formerly principally a draught breed, now raised mainly for beef. It is the largest and one of the oldest cattle breeds in the world...
cows, producing meat for the local specialty, the Fiorentina steak, pigs, pheasants and chickens. In 1956, Fiorentini acquired better equipment and reduced the agricultural activities to a core business of crops.
In 1963, the Italian government introduced drastic reforms of the agricultural regulations, requiring estate owners and landlords to hire the farmers working the land, and pay them a salary. The national reform ended the centennial rules of mezzadria, a system where landowners could have farmers (contadini) living in the farmhouses and working the land, splitting the output of their work 50/50 with the landlord instead of paying rent and receiving salaries. As a result of the reforms, the farmers were forced to leave the land and twenty-five farmhouses around the castle were abandoned. The farmhouses remained unoccupied for some 30 years. Some of them have been restored by the Fiorentini brothers and some have been sold to pay inheritance taxes.
In the 1970s, a socialist Italian government eased restrictions on import of Cuban cigars, which forced the closure of the Kentucky Tuscan Cigars manufacturing plant on the castle grounds.