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?”…

L'articolo FATTORIA DEL COLLE AND THE LISTS OF NAMES OF THOSE WHO BROUGHT IT BACK TO LIFE sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.