"Enchanted wines" di Simona Maestrelli. La tradizione storica ed enogastronomica di Cerreto Guidi per gli enoturisti di Villa Petriolo

Da Enchanted wines di Simona Maestrelli

Wine is the milk of Venus.
Ben Jonson



E' appena uscita una piccola pubblicazione di Simona Maestrelli, nata da un’idea dell’amica Francesca Pacini Fazzi durante un incontro presso la sua storica casa editrice nel centro di Lucca, fondata nel 1966 e specializzata nella pubblicazione di opere sulla storia e cultura di Lucca e della Toscana, nonché su arte e architettura, bibliografia, storia, filosofia, letteratura, cucina.

"Enchanted wines" è destinato agli stranieri che vengono a visitare Villa Petriolo. Dopo una parte introduttiva sulla storia di Cerreto Guidi e del Montalbano, presentazione dei vini di Villa Petriolo con abbinamenti alla cucina toscana. Al III capitolo, "Isabella de’ Medici and me": mia sorella Simona ha iniziato a scrivere "Enchanted wines" esattamente 4 secoli e 67 anni dopo la nascita (il 15 agosto 1542) di questa passionale e sfortunata donna, il cui fantasma pare aleggi ancora, inquieto, a Cerreto Guidi da quel nefasto 15 luglio 1576...




Isabella de’ Medici and me
Isabella de’ Medici was born in Florence on 31st August 1542, the day in which, four centuries and 67 years later, I began to write this book. Isabella was beautiful, cultured, with an easy and self-assured character. Following her family will, she got married with Paolo Giordano I Orsini. He was a noble, but a coarse and a ladies’ man. Isabella liked to read, to play music, to sing, she could speak different languages and used to compose verses. She had transformed her Florentine villa in a literary and artistic salon.
Once married, neglected by her husband, she was ‘looked after’ by Paolo Giordano’s cousin, Troilo Orsini, who was a more gentle and cultivated man. They fell in love, as shown in their passionate exchange of letters. Paolo Giordano I Orsini decided to strangle Isabella, his unfaithful wife. Still today in the Museum of Villa Medicea in Cerreto Guidi there is the rope he used to strangle her, in their bedroom. The ghost of this passionate, cultivated and unlucky beautiful woman, who was only looking for love, appeared many times in the rooms of the Villa Medicea in Cerreto Guidi. The last time happened in 1953, during the shooting of a movie, when the ghost of Isabella appeared in front of some American actors. Villa Petriolo, the place where I used to live, dates back to the Renaissance, the period of the de’Medici family in Cerreto Guidi. I am a curious and extrovert woman, I like literature and art, I am divorced from an intelligent, polite and good hearted man named Paolo (!), but I am writing of Isabella because I remembered to have heard noises in Villa Petriolo. When I was a child I liked to play the struggle with the peasants’ sons, I used to eat the herbs I found in the garden because of their miraculous powers and invented stories such as the ‘princess of the dark wood’ or ‘the mysterious lady –fish of the lake’. Therefore my parents didn’t believe me when I told them I heard strange noises during the night. I was sure it was the unhappy Isabella walking in search of her beloved Troilo. One night I dreamt a young and beautiful Renaissance beauty with long hair and wide open yet very sad eyes. Now I like reading, writing, and I like drawing images of tormented women with wide open eyes, ….and I think about the unhappy end of Isabella while cooking or tasting wines.
(Simona Maestrelli)



A Villa Petriolo, l’azienda vinicola di famiglia, Simona si occupa dell’accoglienza in azienda. Sommelier AIS della delegazione di Lucca, nella cui Provincia risiede, promuove l’aspetto enoturistico, curando le degustazioni per i turisti che durante l’anno giungono a Cerreto Guidi numerosi, da ogni parte del mondo.
E’ un impegno che Simona cerca di onorare quanto più possibile, alternandolo all’impiego principale presso l’altra azienda di famiglia, la Cartotecnica di Empoli, dove è responsabile dell’ufficio qualità.


”La Gaia Mensa”. “The cheerful dinner. Fine wine, food and warm fires”: preparazione della ricetta della panzanella toscana con nonni e nipoti, enoturisti americani


La valorizzazione del territorio di origine per un produttore vinicolo è determinante: il Montalbano, sulle cui dolci colline è adagiata la tenuta, è terra di ville medicee, antico centro culturale dal tardo Rinascimento. L’attività di promozione enoturistica che portiamo avanti è diretta, in sinergia con gli Enti istituzionali di valorizzazione territoriale, alla qualificazione dell’intera area, che vanta una tradizione d’eccellenza vitivinicola antichissima: i “vini boni del Montalbano” sono citati negli Statuti comunali fiorentini sin dal XIII secolo.
Poiché la qualità intima di un vino dipende dalla personalità di chi lo ha prodotto, per noi è determinante che a condurre i wine-tour in azienda sia il produttore in prima persona. E' l'emozione che fa la differenza oggi, non più solo la destinazione. E questa emozione la donano la cura dei particolari, la capacità di coinvolgimento, l'espressione della nostra identità, unica ed irripetibile come lo sono le singole persone.





A small book has been recently published: "Enchanted wines". Written by Simona Maestrelli, from an idea by the friend Francesca Pacini Fazzi during a conversation in her historical publishing house in the centre of Lucca, which specializes in the publication of works about the history and culture of Lucca and Tuscany.
"Enchanted wines" is destined to people who come to visit Villa Petriolo. After an introduction about the history of Cerreto Guidi and Montalbano, presentation of Villa Petriolo's wines which are partnered with Tuscan cuisine.

In chapter 3 "Isabella de' Medici and me". "Isabella de' Medici was born in Florence on 31st August 1542, the day in which, four centuries and 67 years later, I began to write this book. Isabella was beautiful, cultured, with an easy and self-assured character. Following her family will, she got married with Paolo Giordano I Orsini. He was a noble, but a coarse and a ladies' man. Isabella liked to read, to play music, to sing, she could speak different languages and used to compose verses. She had transformed her Florentine villa in a literary and artistic salon (...)". (Simona Maestrelli)

Simona is in charge of the turistic promotions. Sommelier AIS, she promotes enotourism, organizing the wine tour and tastings.

The valorization of the territory in which we live is important for a wine producer. Since the inner quality of a wine depends on the personality of those who make it, at Villa Petriolo is important that wine tastings and visits to the cellars are led by us.

Today the difference is made by emotion, and this is achieved by the care for details, the involvement of people, the expression of our identity, which is unique.