WHAT TOURISTS DON’T EXPECT AT FATTORIA DEL COLLE (2)

WHAT TOURISTS DON’T EXPECT AT FATTORIA DEL COLLE (2)

FEW COUNTRY ESTATES BOAST A HISTORY AS ANCIENT, NOBLE, AND ENTERTAINING AS FATTORIA DEL COLLE – AND TOURISTS GET TO LIVE RIGHT IN THE MIDST OF IT.

 

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini, winedestination, Fattoria del Colle Trequanda, Casato Prime Donne Montalcino

 

Let us continue sharing the little secrets of Fattoria del Colle that surprise and delight tourists—the details that make a stay there unique, distinctive, and memorable.

The villa’s historic rooms and its chapel house true art masterpieces. The owner, Donatella Cinelli Colombini, is an art historian by background and spent years specializing in medieval goldsmithing. She owns just one piece created by 15th-century Sienese goldsmiths: a copper processional cross. The other artworks are casually interspersed with everyday objects throughout the historic rooms of the villa, where she still resides. Donatella has always lived surrounded by masterpieces; she has no desire to put them on display, preferring simply to enjoy their presence around her. Nevertheless, she is well aware of the risks posed by frequent tourist visits and the threat of theft, which is why Fattoria del Colle is protected by security cameras and alarm systems.

The Hall of Coats of Arms, the billiard room, and the fireplace room retain some of their original furnishings and house many curiosities—such as the list of chickens, brooms, and eggs that each farmstead was required to supply, the alarm bell cord hidden inside the clock, and antique white porcelain from Richard (the company that later became Richard Ginori).

 

CURIOSITIES AND STORIES FROM THE PAST IN THE FATTORIA DEL COLLE APARTMENTS

Antique objects—even those of modest significance—can be found in the guest rooms and apartments. This often surprises visitors accustomed to more modern, standardized surroundings. Indeed, Donatella’s deep-seated desire to preserve the past has led her to make unconventional choices. She insisted on keeping even heavily worn floors—surfaces that require operating-room-grade sanitizers to meet tourism hygiene standards. Antique fixtures and furniture keep the carpenter busy all winter long… Ultimately, these distinctive choices imbue the guest rooms and apartments with the warmth and authenticity of lived-in homes. That is why Donatella often says, “You will feel as though you are staying in the home of Tuscan grandparents.”

Then there are the stories—and what stories they are! We share just a few of them here. There is the “Monache” (Nuns) room, featuring all the original furnishings from the quarters where the friars and nuns—who used to roam the countryside soliciting alms until the early 20th century—would sleep. This apartment contains the villa’s only second-floor window fitted with security bars. These were necessary because some of the visitors were impostors posing as religious figures; as a precaution, they were literally locked in their room at night.

The gamekeeper—whose badge hangs in the entrance—lived in the Guardia apartment. The view from the windows is magnificent and allowed the gamekeeper to monitor the woods and, above all, the “bandite” and “banditelli”—areas subject to specific restrictions regarding grazing and hunting.

 

Sant’Angela Alta is the accommodation that preserves its original features more than any other. One room retains its old, curved floor, while the kitchen boasts a huge fireplace and a series of wall-mounted planks where the antique pans once used by housewives are hung.

 

 

THE GRAND DUKE’S CHAMBER

However, the room with the richest history is the chamber of Grand Duke Peter Leopold of Habsburg. Widely regarded as Tuscany’s finest ruler, he arrived in Florence at the age of eighteen, married to the daughter of the King of Spain, and died in Vienna in 1792 after having been crowned Emperor of Austria.

During his long reign in Tuscany, he implemented a vast number of reforms, aided by a group of extraordinary advisors and experts. Among these initiatives was the reclamation of the Val di Chiana, which had previously been a marshland. Grand Duke Peter Leopold frequently visited the site to oversee the work, and it was there that he met Countess Isabella Martinozzi of Montelifrè Castle, located not far from Fattoria del Colle. The two became lovers but were unable to keep their affair secret; the relationship was recounted in a pamphlet titled “La Pellegrina”, which the Grand Ducal police subsequently seized and destroyed.

There were other hazards, too: while attempting to reach his lover in secret, the Grand Duke fell into a ditch, causing great alarm among his court. Ultimately, the Grand Ducal authorities decided to have a private retreat—a “garçonnière”—built at Fattoria del Colle. The Countess would arrive via a woodland path while the Grand Duke took the main road, thereby ensuring royal privacy.

 

Later, Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s great-grandfather used the room that had belonged to Pietro Leopoldo and Isabella as a dining room, so he could enjoy its magnificent view. Today, it has been restored to a romantic bedchamber where couples who marry at Fattoria del Colle spend their honeymoon. It features a ceiling painted with all the birds of the Tuscan countryside and furniture from Donatella’s grandmother’s room—pieces carved in the Renaissance style by Fulvio Corsini, the finest Sienese cabinetmaker of the early 20th century.