Fattoria di Volmiano

The villa of Volmiano was a watchtower, enlarged in the fifteenth century by the Cerretani family when their own villa burned down. Within the estate stands also the complex of Sorbetole, originally owned by the Martelli. It later passed to the Medici, who absorbed it into the Caffaggiolo estate.

The last descendant of the Cerretani, Cassandra, enlarged the small fifteenth-century oratory and had a fountain built which enlivens the garden with its box hedges.

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The Volmiano estate

Today the Villa di Volmiano is an imposing complex arranged around a sturdy ancient tower, set within a great green and unspoilt valley, facing the commanding estate of Sorbetole, where olive oil has been produced since the Middle Ages.

From the property one can still make out the line of the ancient towers set to guard the road linking Florence to Bologna.

Sorbetole looks towards Volmiano, which in turn looks towards the castle of Legri, and the castle looks towards a tower standing at the entrance to the Marinella valley.

Today the Volmiano estate, owned by Vittoria Gondi Citernesi and her sons Gerardo and Lapo Gondi, is run by Lapo, who has carried on the great passion of his grandfather Alfredo Citernesi, a man who devoted his life to the cultivation of olives and to the extra virgin oil of which he was so proud.

The estate is entered in the register of historic holdings classified by the Chamber of Commerce as a specialised olive grove.

The Estate and its Land

The farm lies in a green and unspoilt valley on the slopes of Monte Morello, renowned for its oil since the Middle Ages.

The estate today extends over some 550 hectares, of which 70 are specialised olive grove with more than 20,000 olive trees of the Leccino, Moraiolo, Frantoio and Pendolino varieties. They are surrounded by coppice and high forest rising from 250 to 1,000 metres, reaching one of the three peaks of Monte Morello.

This unspoilt valley, where time has stood still, may fairly be called the green lung of Florence. For this reason the estate is today organic and lies within a Site of Community Importance (SCI).

During the pressing season it is the ideal destination for those wishing to see a traditional mill still working with stone wheels, presses and pressing mats.

The Oratory

In the Valley of Volmiano there was once a succession of tabernacles set up to protect the travellers who, from the Middle Ages onwards, took the old roads leading north.

Most of these have been lost, but in the garden of Volmiano a much celebrated oratory remains, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist Beheaded, with frescoes attributed to the school of Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio. They date from about 1495 and were commissioned by Paolo Cerretani, father of Bartolommeo, the historian who in 1520 described the period following Savonarola in his “Diario di una mutazione”.

Cassandra Cerretani, widow of Capponi, enlarged the oratory in the early eighteenth century to protect the frescoes from the weather and had a small church built.

Beneath the villa are two mills which press the estate's own olives exclusively; the first is traditional, cold pressing with stone wheels.

Since on this estate tradition is joined with innovation, all the machinery is in stainless steel.

To speed the extraction, a robot has been installed to assist the work of the millers. The olive paste is laid on pressing mats which are then stacked, and the organic, natural, extra virgin olive oil of Volmiano is drawn off through a press.

The second mill is modern, again cold pressing, with vertical malaxers and a decanter under reduced oxygen. Two kinds of oil of the very highest quality are thus produced.

The Olive Oil of Volmiano

Extra virgin olive oil, cold pressed with stone wheels, natural, organic and unfiltered. It is deep green in colour, delicate yet persistent in flavour, with a fruited aroma.

It is a product of high quality, slightly denser because it undergoes no alteration by heat, being extracted by the traditional method, that is by pressure and centrifugal force.

It is stored in steel silos under nitrogen to prevent oxidation. It is later packaged in tins and bottles of various sizes.

During the pressing season, in November and December, Fattoria di Volmiano arranges visits to the mill with oil tastings accompanied by samplings of Tuscan produce. Visits are by appointment only. Walks may also be arranged in private and exclusive parts of the game estate, accompanied by a guide who will bring to life its thousand-year history and unspoilt nature, following old paths among the olive groves and woods of Monte Morello. A tasting of oil at the mill or a picnic will follow. Walks are arranged by appointment throughout the year, except in winter.