The History

The land sorrounding the Piacentino hills dates back to the Pliocene age and its soils are deep, fossiliferous and mainly made up of sand and gray blue clay.

From 1545 until 1859 the land belonged to the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza. An area well known for a pleasant standard of living and gastronomy,
which over the centuries has allowed to elaborate its DOP products, known and appreciated all around the world. In the long history of the Duchy, which
spans more than three centuries and had wars and skirmishes, the Duchess
Maria Luigia of Austria, formerly the wife of Napoleon, left a particular impact.
People in Piacenza and Parma still have a very high opinion of the regent, who is remembered as being one of the best leaders in the duchy’s history. Maria Luigia greatly influenced the standard of the local lifestyle, which in the early 1800s has experienced a long period of prosperity. The duchy’s population could allow themselves not only a pleasant standard of living at the table but also appreciate a good glass of wine.
The high regard for the Duchess is still felt today and every year events are organised in her honour and the Crypt of the Capuchins in Vienna, where her rest were buried, is the destination of pilgrimages and tributes of violets, one of the symbols of the ducal city.