In the hermitage for prayers one will find the Infernotto
Infernotto: protected and reserved area of the wine cellar destined to the conservation of the most precious bottles
Fattoria del Colle infernotto
The first inhabitant of Fattoria del Colle was hermit called Sant’Egidio di Querciola in the XII century. His refuge was an underground cavity, during later times enlarged and
transformed into a well. Today it is possible to enter the hermitage from the tasting hall in the wine cellar.It is a room dug in the calcareous rocks and reinforced with walls and ceiling in bricks and stones. Up until now it was empty but the necessity to preserve the antique bottles of Brunello in a place that was safe from thefts, dark, with constant temperature and humidity has made it necessary to transform it into an “infernotto”. For a producer of wine this is not an irreverent use, quite the contrary. Here the most precious goods in the cellar, the historic bottles of its production, find the right resting place and even a sort of blessing.
So now in the hermitage we have erected small brick walls with wooden shelves so as to form something like a bookcase. In a few days time we will lay to rest more than one thousand bottle of Brunello apt for long ageing, to be stored for special occasions. In other words the hermitage is becoming a caveau containing a small liquid treasure.
- Fattoria del colle Enzo e Paolo nell’eremo
To testify the original use of the cave as a hermitage for praying, we will leave at the entrance the image of the Virgin and inside there will be a sundial with the letters JHS in memory of San Bernardino who, according to written sources, stayed here at the beginning of the 15th century.