presents

the treasures of San Miniato

San Miniato and its territoryTHE TOWNHISTORY

THE ROCCA OF FEDERICO IIA “SLOW “ TOWN OF FLAVOURS

THE WHITE TRUFFLE PIETRO BECONCINI AGRICOLA

“Io sono colui che tenni ambo le chiavidel cor di Federigo”

The Divine Comedy, XIII° Canto dell’Inferno

Dante Alighieri sang about Pier Delle Vigne in the “Woods of Suicide”. He was the Federico II's loyal chancellor, logothete and poet untill he was blinded and emprisoned in the Rocca of San Miniato. Unable to bear his disgrace, he killed himself in this prison in 1249.

San Miniato is a charming village perched atop a hill located along the Arno river and situated in the heart of Tuscany, halfway between Florence and Pisa, Lucca , Siena and other towns of art.San Miniato and its territory give a good cross-section of Tuscany, where a modern development merges with old traditions, a thousand-year-old history and a great artistic heritage, all set against gentle landscapes where life is still on a human scale.The origins of this city go back to the Etruscan-Roman times but it has been conquered by Longobards and Romans across the centuries. The town has a castle which hosted Pope Gregory V and the legendary Frederick Barbarossa who built the “Rocca”, a marvellous tower on top of the hill: it has been the symbol of San Miniato ever since.The town is situated near the well-known “Via Francigena”, the ancient pilgrimage road between Rome and Canterbury, crossed also by merchants, kings and armies.In the uncontaminated rural hinterland, among the roots of the oak, linden and willow trees, snuggles the most prized of the hypogean mushrooms: the White Truffle of the San Miniato Hills.

THE TOWN

The origins of San Miniato go back to Etruscans and Roman civilizations: the ruins of the necropolis of Fontevivo, tables, marble statues and bronze works. Colonized by the Augustan legionaries San Miniato later was a military post but only as a consequence of the Longobards' invasion it became a village. In 783 the Longobards built a church here and consecrated it to the martyr Saint Miniato.The castle was built in 962 by the Emperor Ottone I who founded there the seat of the Imperial Vicars with jurisdiction the all of Tuscany. It was also the residence of those marquis among which there was Boniface, marquis and vicar of the Emperor, father of the Countess Matilde of Canossa, born in San Miniato in 1046.Many German Emperors visited the town and remained here stayed in the Imperial Palace (today the Bishop's Palace): Frederick "Barbarossa" was there in 1167 and in 1178; Ottone IV in 1209. San Miniato also had the honour of welcoming three Supreme Pontiffs: Gregory V in 996, Eugene IV in 1434 and Clement VII in 1553.

HISTORY

On his way home from Pisa, Saint Francis of Assisi travelled to the top of the San Miniato hill and founded the historic Convent on the year 1211. In the municipal period, the village, of Ghibelline faction, received many privileges from Emperor Frederick II who had also built, around 1236 a complex of fortifications.

Many brilliant people are bound to San Miniato. Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, the Baron dei Mangiadori who commanded the Florentine cavalry at the battle of Campaldino, the naturalist Michele Mercati junior, the painter Ludovico Cardi, called "Cigoli", the chemist Gioacchino Taddei, the philosopher Augusto Conti, the poet Pietro Bagnoli and professor Pietro Rondoni, scientist and genius. Also the Borromeo family of Milan and the Buonaparte of Corsica are descendents of San Miniato noble blood .

In the XVIII century the famous historian and naturalist Emanuele Repetti called San Miniato "The seedbed of illustrious men and famous talents of all time and types“...

HISTORY

Its origins date back to the time of Frederick II, when modifications were made to the fortifications that Ottone I had already destined as the headquarters for the imperial clergy. The stronghold represented the central nucleus of the large defence system which also included the towers of Matilde, together with the present-day bell tower of the Cathedral, and the Delle Cornacchie Tower, demolished in the 18th century. From this strategic position at the confluence of the Valdelsa and the Valdarno valleys, it was possible to control the roadway between Florence and Pisa, as well as the Via Francigena between Valdelsa and LuccaThe tower is famous because it was were Pier delle Vigne was held prisoner. Della Vigna was the loyal secretary of, cited in Dante’s Divine Comedy. The tower was destroyed during WWII and completely restored in 1956. Because of its strategic position, the tower also boasts magnificent views of the surrounding countryside and the city of San Miniato.

The Rocca of Frederick Barbarossa, symbol of San Miniato...

THE ROCCA OF FEDERICO II

The culture and the quality of life intertwine in San Minato: both in the urban context of the city centre and the uncontaminated rural hinterland. A meeting point for the city and the countryside is the material culture of food that, in San Miniato, has deep roots in their ancient agricultural economy.San Miniato is the town of the white truffle, product king of its soil, and a “slow food” town with delicious food and wine traditions.

You can taste the quality of these genuine traditions in the farms, restaurants and groceries; you can breathe culture and the quality of life in the streets and alleys of the historical town centre; you can feel the welcome of the people in the farmhouses and wineries spread in the countryside around the town…

A “SLOW “ TOWN OF FLAVOURS

The White Truffle from the San Miniato hills, a geographical truffle-producing area that extends towards the inland countryside of Pisa, is known as the Tuber Magnatum Pico. This kind of underground fungi is the most valuable. Located a few centimetres deep, they can only be found in a limited number of areas favoured by nature for the particular, almost mysterious combination of forest fauna and geological substratum.

San Miniato holds the most records in this select area. Here the largest truffle ever found, a very fragrant tuber weighing in at 2.520 grams, was presented to President of USA Truman in 1954.But their truffle also hold a record of quality not only because of the fertility of the woods, but also to the care taken and the deep respect for the environment where they are grown in the San Miniato hills.

THE WHITE TRUFFLE

The value of the White Truffle of San Miniato lies in its rarity and its roots date from the Middle Ages, but it has only been a little more than 100 years that their gathering has been organised by the area’s family groups, the so-called “Tartufai delle Colline Samminiatesi”.For these reasons the truffle, though, does not just mean a unique taste: it is also local culture and business. San Miniato produces 25% of Italy's white truffle production.

For forthy years the Mostra Mercato Nazionale del Tartufo Bianco di San Miniato (The National White Truffle of San Miniato Show), transforms the city for the entire month of November into a huge open-air tasting workshop. Here the truffle takes the throne where it is displayed in the historical Piazza del Duomo at the foot of the Rocca. Other squares also have their own markets, with typical flavours of the San Miniato hills.

THE WHITE TRUFFLE

The winery history begins in the 1950s when Giuseppe Beconcini purchases from the estate of the Marchesi Ridolfi family the lands where his forefathers have been working for many years. During the years from being an agricultural property it becomes a strictly viticultural and winemaking estate. Leonardo Beconcini avocation starts to take shape in the 1990s when he takes over the reins of the business from his father Pietro, with the first vintage of a monovarietal Sangiovese.

Since 1997, Eva Bellagamba embarks this new activity with Leonardo and decide together to undertake the studies of the local environment. The most interesting results are: the selection of two local Sangiovese clones, used for the wine production; the increase of Malvasia nera grape plantings; the discovery of the unexpected presence at San Miniato of the fabulous grape variety Tempranillo.

Who we are…

PIETRO BECONCINI AGRICOLA

The vineyards cover a total of 12 hectares of territory and are the fruit of long, attentive observation and selection of the grape varieties growing in these small parcels.The soil where we work is an extraordinary blend of different components. The main one is a very dense, compact white clay which means laborious work to cultivate vineyards. The other geological are incredibly various, composed mainly of a whole series of sandstones and Pliocene-era marine fossils, and the layers are quite thin.From the early 1990s to today we have studied enormous numbers of grape varieties, all of them exclusively indigenous and traditional to this area.

Our vineyards…

PIETRO BECONCINI AGRICOLA

Discovering Tempranillo…

The unique characteristics of Tempranillo vines today are due above all to spontaneous evolution over the centuries they have been in our vineyards and to their intimate relationship with San Miniato terroir: the acidity typical of Tuscany, the savouriness and mineraly tang that are the gift of our limestone soils.

In the early 90’s, during the selections from old vineyards, we found out a particular vine that neither the most expert academics nor the most ancient winegrowers could identify. In the meantime we tried to track backwards in time, in 1700. In that period, Via Francigena, which pass through our property, served by the most important road to reach Rome on pilgrimages. In that period new vineyards were started, by planting grape seeds coming from these long. A deep research indicated that a high percentage of genetic material is identical to a Spanish variety known as Tempranillo.

PIETRO BECONCINI AGRICOLA