SAN DONATO IN BELLARIA
The holiday you were looking for, in the heart of Tuscany
There are places that call us, perhaps even from very far away. We do not know the reason, but, even before having seen them, we know that following their call we will find a piece of our soul.
Silvia Montemurro
BUILDING SAN DONATO IN BELLARIA
A historic Tuscan home
The Palazzo di San Donato in Bellaria was built towards the middle of the seventeenth century by the parish priest of Chianni Domenico di Marcantonio Bacci, exponent of one of the noblest families of the place.
THE CHAPEL
A masterful execution
Like any respectable noble house, the private chapel could not be missing in the Palazzo di Bellaria.
The frescoes are thought to be attributable to Domenico Tempesti (well-known Tuscan painter born in Volterra on 9 August 1729), and in his workshop.
THE DRY WALLS
The dry stone walls of Bellaria, now a UNESCO heritage site, were built by hand, in about 50 years, between 1890 and 1940, by digging slate stones from the nearby quarry and transporting them on ox-drawn carts.
POLYCHROMATIC SHISTS
The geology and the terroir of wine
Shales are essentially old compressed clays, and the rocks in these soils have in common that they splinter into thin, regular slabs.
The vines grown on shale soils produce elongated, austere and mineral wines. The shales also promote the finesse of the aromas and bring complexity to the wine. It is therefore not surprising that today a producer association called Terroirs de Schistes was born.
THE DRY WALLS
Works of architecture agricultural
The dry stone walls of Bellaria, now a UNESCO heritage site, were built by hand, in about 50 years, between 1890 and 1940, by digging slate stones from the nearby quarry and transporting them on ox-drawn carts.
