This is a rugged and wild, sunny part of Apulia stretching across a plateau north of the Murgia Barese. Dotted with masserie (farm houses), jazzi (sheep pens) and rural chapels, it is marked for long stretches just by rows of stone, miles of dry-stone walls, which mark the age-old boundaries of the fields, perfectly blended into the landscape.
This stone pattern includes farm facilities dating back to the days of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, whose horses used to be bred in this area, and facilities that used to offer shelter during transhumance, and appear already in the records of the Royal Customs of the 16th century. All of these buildings are marked by the presence of stone, a readily available and versatile building material attesting to man’s hard labour in the course
of the centuries.
This stone pattern includes farm facilities dating back to the days of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, whose horses used to be bred in this area, and facilities that used to offer shelter during transhumance, and appear already in the records of the Royal Customs of the 16th century. All of these buildings are marked by the presence of stone, a readily available and versatile building material attesting to man’s hard labour in the course
of the centuries.
|
Castel del Monte
This grand architectural work represents a perfect synthesis of elaborate mathematical and astronomical theories and was built in 1220 on behalf of an enlightened monarch, Frederick II of Hohenstaufen. It has an octagonal layout, with eight octagonal towers, one at each corner: the octagon has always been a geometric figure involving a great number of symbolical values, because of its being considered an intermediate shape between the square, symbolizing the earth, and the circle, representing the boundless heavens. A passage, therefore, from the former to the latter; this assumption seems reasonable if we consider that one of the building’s most likely sources of inspiration might have been the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Commonly known as the Castle, its actual purpose is still wrapped in mystery. Lacking any specifically military features, built in a strategically irrelevant position, these austere and imposing edifice might have been designed as a hunting mansion, since the monarch was a passionate hunter. What is left of the once richly and finely decorated castle after centuries of plunder and neglect are the triumphal portal of marine breccia and the vault ribs with keystones depicting mythological creatures and floral patterns that are typical of the late Swabian culture. Castel del Monte has experienced a revival thanks to accurate restoration works after which it has been acknowledged as one of UNESCO’s world heritage sites. |
History
It was the year 1920, when the Liantonio family of Palo del Colle embarked upon the project of setting up the first wine-growing and producing business, actually also the first olive-growing and oil-producing business. Thanks to their passion for wine, the Liantonio brothers took the plunge in 1948: in the heart of the “Murgia barese”, in the area marked by the majestic presence of the Swabian castle known as Castel del Monte, more precisely in a then unknown hamlet called Contrada “Torre del vento”, they decided to buy a splendid old farm entirely built of stone, a former seventeenth-century monastery with perfectly preserved cellars, stables and walls … but above all with an estate including 57 hectares of vineyards. In the early Fifties, Gaetano Liantonio began the processing of grapes and the restoration of the already existing edifice. Thus, a winery was born in Torre del Vento, whose grapes were picked and processed internally and where that precious “nectar” of the Gods was already beginning to
strike new paths…
It was the year 1920, when the Liantonio family of Palo del Colle embarked upon the project of setting up the first wine-growing and producing business, actually also the first olive-growing and oil-producing business. Thanks to their passion for wine, the Liantonio brothers took the plunge in 1948: in the heart of the “Murgia barese”, in the area marked by the majestic presence of the Swabian castle known as Castel del Monte, more precisely in a then unknown hamlet called Contrada “Torre del vento”, they decided to buy a splendid old farm entirely built of stone, a former seventeenth-century monastery with perfectly preserved cellars, stables and walls … but above all with an estate including 57 hectares of vineyards. In the early Fifties, Gaetano Liantonio began the processing of grapes and the restoration of the already existing edifice. Thus, a winery was born in Torre del Vento, whose grapes were picked and processed internally and where that precious “nectar” of the Gods was already beginning to
strike new paths…
|
The New Generation
The turning point came when Gaetano’s son Francesco, still coping with both his academic studies and the wine harvest, discovered to have the same family passion… the passion for wine, but first of all a passion for that land, the Murgia, too often considered just parched and barren, and which he believed to be fertile instead, rich in grapes with their own specific character, which might have contributed to a worldwide appreciation and promotion of that area… With this in mind, having given up the idea of an academic career, even if it was already well advanced at that time in 1989 Francesco Liantonio founded TORREVENTO S.r.l. , called after the name of the hamlet. From then onwards, investments for the production plant, the restoration of the buildings and the expansion of the winery-owned areas planted with vines brought about what Torrevento means today, namely a whole world. Yes, because Torrevento is not just a Winery… with its Wines, it is also a gate to a world of scents, colours and flavours of this very part of Apulia… Today, mighty hand-built dry-stone walls with a thickness of mt. 1.50 enclose the large and modern winery; the old cellars located at a depth of 8 mt. are perfect for the storing of the wines obtained from noble autochthonous grape varieties typical of this area, and for the ageing in wooden barrels of the wines Vigna Pedale and Kebir… The completely restored old stables include now a beautiful stone hall to welcome visitors, tourist, or wine connoisseurs, who wish to stop by and have a taste of good wine along the Strada dei Vini DOC Castel del Monte (Wine Road)… Old vines and modern technology, workmanship and entrepreneurship, a perfect synthesis between tradition and innovation… TORREVENTO … with its WINES… messengers of APULIA’s flavours and culture. |
|