FATTORIA DEL COLLE AND THE LISTS OF NAMES OF THOSE WHO BROUGHT IT BACK TO LIFE
AT FATTORIA DEL COLLE, THERE ARE LISTS OF NAMES ON THE WALLS. DONATELLA HD THEM INSCRIBED TO COMMEMORATE THE DATES AND THE KEY FIGURES BEHIND THE ETATE’S REVIVAL.
Toscana Fattoria del Colle agriturismo list of names
By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, winedestination, Fattoria del Colle Trequanda, Casato Prime Donne Montalcino
Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s family displays two contrasting approaches: some cover the walls with inscriptions and commemorative phrases, while others do not even affix plaques to their most significant achievements. Donatella’s great-grandfather, Pio Colombini, placed his name everywhere at the Universities of Cagliari and Modena, where he served as Rector. Her grandfather, Giovanni Colombini, did not put up even a small plaque at the Fortress of Montalcino, which he restored in 1940, rescuing it from a state of severe disrepair (at the time, there were even graves inside).
DONATELLA AND HER HABIT OF WRITING NAMES EVERYWHERE
Donatella likes to make names and dates visible, yet she dislikes the rhetoric often associated with commemorations. That is why, in various spots around Fattoria del Colle, one finds actual lists of names—just names, without commentary—which has led to some misunderstandings. The oldest list is in the restaurant’s fireplace room. It bears the date 1998, the year Donatella carried out her first restoration project after receiving the property from her father. There are only 13 names, belonging to the people who transformed a former ox stable and pigsty into the restaurant’s dining room and kitchen. Issues arose when tourists, failing to grasp the meaning of the inscription, assumed it was a memorial; “Was there a massacre here?” they would ask. This reaction baffled Donatella, whose sole intention was to leave a record of the work done by those who usually go unnoticed: masons, farmhands, and labourers.
RESTAURANT, WINE CELLAR, VEGETABLE GARDEN, PARKS… LISTS OF NAMES COMMEMORATING RESTORATION PROJECTS
But Donatella’s desire to write on the walls did not stop there. In 1999, the names of the employees were painted in Gothic script—resembling illuminated manuscript details—beneath the vaulted ceiling of the barrel room. This restoration marked the beginning of the winery’s construction, a process that concluded in 2021 with the blessing of the large underground storage facility. On the wall of the room where tourists learn to listen to the sounds of the vineyard, the names of everyone who worked on the winery’s rebirth are displayed—an extensive list that includes technicians and workers from external companies.
Other lists of names can be found at the entrance to the park facing the villa and beside the vegetable garden gate. However, they are absent from other restored areas, such as the natural wellness centre and the old hayloft, which has been converted into a banquet hall. “If we look closely, signs indicating organic farming and a clear ‘Fattoria del Colle’ sign are also missing, but we will remedy that,” says Donatella with a smile. “My passion for lettering hasn’t faded.”