Not all Turin residents know that on the city hill, in the magnificent Savoy residence of Villa della Regina, there is a city vineyard from which the Freisa di Chieri DOC Superiore wine is obtained.
It is the only urban vineyard in Italy to produce a DOC certified cru wine.
To tell the whole story, we have to go back in time a little... to 1615, the year in which the Orvieto architect Ascanio Vitozzi, the designer of the Royal Palace of Turin, created the project for Villa della Regina. This residence was commissioned by Maurizio of Savoy - first cardinal and then, from 1641, prince of Oneglia: hence the original name of Villa del Principe Cardinale - and then passed to his wife Ludovica of Savoy.
Today it is called Villa della Regina as it was chosen as a summer residence first by Anna Maria d'Orléans and then by Polissena d'Assia, both queens of Sardinia. It is precisely during the eighteenth century that the Villa experienced its period of maximum splendor, thanks to Queen Anna Maria of Orléans, who fell madly in love with this place, its rural tranquility and the wonderful panorama of the city of Turin and with the intervention of the Juvarra inevitably takes on the appearance that can still be observed today.
The «large plot of vineyard populated by fruit-bearing plants», which extends on the hill north of Villa della Regina, was created as an integral agricultural part of the vineyard desired and designed by Prince Maurice of Savoy at the beginning of the seventeenth century. «Vigna, forest, meadow and garden» are described in 1657 in his post-mortem inventory and in the subsequent one of 1677, when substantial «improvements involving very considerable sums», also including the «planting of trees and vines», were promoted by the new owner, his wife Ludovica di Savoia.
During the 18th century, interest in this aspect of ‘living in the Villa’ remained unchanged, as it did in the 19th century, when the vineyard, under lease, adjoined the ‘fruit gardens’, which in turn adjoined the ‘vegetable garden’ of the Villa's caretaker.
During the eighteenth century, the interest in this aspect of "villa living" remained unchanged, as in the nineteenth century, when the leased vineyard bordered the "fruit gardens", which in turn were adjacent to the "vegetable garden". with legumes" of the Custodian of the Villa.
Since 1869 it was donated by the Savoy family to the National Institute for the Daughters of Italian Soldiers. It is part of the circuit of Savoy Residences in Piedmont and since 1997 it has been registered on the World Heritage List as part of the UNESCO serial site Savoy Residences.
With the closure of the National Institute for the Daughters of the Military, the slope intended for the vineyard and the entire garden were invaded by weeds which led to their disappearance from the city panorama.
The Allied bombings of the Second World War led to the destruction of various architectural and structural elements of the Villa and, with them, the vineyard was also semi-destroyed and abandoned for decades. The villa experienced a dark and decaying period, during which its exteriors were covered with accumulations of weeds that reached up to a volume of 400,000 cubic meters of plants.
This situation came to an end in 1994, the year the Superintendency for the artistic and historical heritage of Piedmont took over the management of the structural complex, with disinfestation and restoration works that lasted over ten years, until 2007, the official year of the reopening. to the public.
There was still one last piece missing...
The long recovery activity of the magnificent Villa della Regina, in fact, ended in 2003 with the replanting of the historic Royal Vineyard by the Balbiano Winery.
Making use of the precious collaboration of Prof. Gerbi (University of Turin - Faculty of Agriculture) and Dr. Anna Schneider (CNR - Turin), the Balbiano company has succeeded in the complex aim of bringing the Vigna della Regina back to life. A total of 2700 cuttings, mostly from Freisa, spread over a total area of 0.73 hectares.
The first year of harvest was 2008: the 10 quintals of harvested grapes were entirely entrusted to Prof. Gerbi so that, through a series of experimental micro-vinifications, he could give his opinion regarding the winemaking potential: the results gave results extraordinary, encouraging the Balbiano Company to undertake a vinification aimed at long refinement.
The 2009 vintage marked the first official harvest of "Vigna della Regina": 40 quintals of healthy and ripe grapes gave rise to the first historic bottles of "Vigna della Regina" 2009.
2011 is a historic year for both Vigneto Reale and the Balbiano company. A long and delicate work led to the reintroduction of the Villa della Regina vineyard within the Freisa di Chieri DOC area, thus making it capable of producing (from the 2011 vintage) the first Freisa di Chieri DOC Superiore “Vigna Villa della Regina”, a unique wine, 100% Turin and of royal lineage.
In addition to wine, other products are available such as Freisa flavored chocolates, Pecetto cherries soaked in wine, grappa distilled from the selected pomace of Vigna della Regina and Chinato di Freisa.
From the experience of Vigna della Regina, Luca Balbiano founded the Urban Vineyards Association (U.V.A.) in 2019, an international association created with the aim of protecting the rural, historical and landscape heritage represented by urban vineyards, enhancing them from a cultural and tourism perspective , making it productive for the community and for the future while respecting the environment, through winemaking and social policies of integration and sustainability.
