The “Corte”

The “Corte”, our “Court”, was born from our passion and our vision of living and working in nature. The richness of these hills allows us to gather and craft various products derived from plants and animals: fruit, vegetables, eggs, honey and wine.

Our philosophy is to apply agricultural and breeding techniques that are increasingly respectful of the environment, designed to achieve product quality, aiming above all to develop the potential of this very suitable territory, rediscovering the species and the lesser-known native varieties in particular.

Our goal is to tell all this to those who want to learn more about this area, its traditions and its products. This is why our doors are always open to welcome you, to allow you see and touch our work and try the products in our tastings, for lunch or dinner.

Gallery

The Territory


We are in the Oltrepò Pavese, the southernmost territory of the Lombardy region. It extends between the Po River and the Apennines, nestled between Liguria, Piedmont and Emilia Romagna with its iconic “cluster” shape. Some also call it the “Old Piedmont”.

The area is crossed by the 45th parallel North, the famous “parallel of wine”. It is a hilly area, which does not exceed 300 meters above sea level, characterized by a fairly dry climate in winter and windy weather in summer. These characteristics have always made it an area suitable for the production of grapes and wines.

Our family enterprise is located in the welcoming municipality of Broni, which is in a very accommodating location for those wishing to visit the Pavia province and the surrounding areas. The provinces of Piacenza, Alessandria, Lodi and Milan are easily reachable thanks to rail and road connections. The Oltrepò area itself offers various places of interest, such as the Rivanazzano thermal baths, the Dal Verme Castle in Zavattarello, the Malaspina Castle in Nazzano and many others.

Discover the history of Oltrepò

In the first millennium BC, the colonization of the hilly Oltrepò from the Gulf of Tigullio by Gallic and Ligurian populations began.

Starting from 238 BC the Romans progressively conquered the area and founded numerous inhabited centers. With the decline of the Western Roman Empire, the Oltrepò underwent new invasions, among which in particular we remember the destruction of Iria (now Voghera) led by Attila’s army.

The Oltrepò then followed the historical and political events of the Duchy of Milan, from which it was detached in 1743 following the Treaty of Worms: in fact, Maria Teresa of Austria ceded the entire territory to the King of Sardinia. This region was therefore removed from the political control of Pavia, becoming part of Piedmonts’ territory under the sovereignty of the House of Savoy and becoming a province with Voghera as its capital. In 1860, with the unification of Italy, the Oltrepò once again returned definitively under the province of Pavia.

The viticulture of the Oltrepò is cited by classical Greek and Roman authors (including Pliny the Elder and Strabonius), and subsequently by others in 1000 and 1500 and, again, in monographs published in 1800. Today the Oltrepò is the second area of the country by surface area dedicated to wine. There are 76 municipalities along the entire line of hills.

The Oltrepò Pavese is also renowned as it was the first Italian region to make Pinot Noir sparkling wine in 1865 using the classic method, thanks to Count Giorgi of Vistarino and Carlo Gancia.