The history of the Corsini family is linked to that of two prestigious estates: the elegant Villa Le Corti and Tenuta Marsiliana which, in 1759, was recognized by the Grand Duke of Tuscany to Prince Corsini.
The history of the Corsini family is linked to that of two prestigious estates: the elegant Villa Le Corti and Tenuta Marsiliana which, in 1759, was recognized by the Grand Duke of Tuscany to Prince Corsini.
The history of the Le Corti farm dates back officially to 1363, the year in which the Corsini family purchased “three farms with vineyards and olive trees, an oil mill and a lords’ house” in San Casciano Val di Pesa. The choice was determined by its strategic position near Florence, by the quality of the land highly suited to agriculture and, in particular, by the presence of an oil mill for the production of oil.
At the beginning of the 17th century, Bartolomeo Corsini (1545-1613), entrusted to the painter and architect Santi di Tito (1536-1603) the project for the construction of Villa Le Corti and its cellars, the first large building wanted by the family to underline its social and political status.
Afterwards the Villa was built from the ground up; in this period the new premises used for the farm were built and, in particular, the immense cellars that unfold on three levels under the villa and the surrounding lawn: a real monument of wine history.
Since 1992 the company has been run by Duccio Corsini, son of Philip IX Prince of Sismano who, the following year, led the first harvest under the new Principe Corsini brand.
Today the farm extends over 230 hectares of which almost 50 are destined for the cultivation of the vineyard and another 63 hectares reserved for olive trees. The remaining land was deliberately left in the woods with a view to respecting the balance of the territory and biodiversity.
The main goal of Fattoria di Villa Le Corti is to produce high quality Chianti Classico, a distinctive product that is able to accurately express the territory of origin while respecting the environment, seasonality, the rhythms of nature and, above all, the unicity of the vines. For this reason, since 2013, the estate has chosen to cultivate all the vineyards following the rules of organic cultivation.
The history of the Corsini family is intertwined with that of the Marsiliana in 1759, when Prince Corsini obtained the estate with its fortified village.
Immediately, the Corsini worked for the modernization and reclamation of the area, at that time characterized by inhospitable marshes mixed with woods and cultivated fields.
The most important rationalization work is due to Tommaso Corsini (1835-1919), VII Prince of Sismano and senator of the newborn Kingdom of Italy. At the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it transformed Marsiliana into one of the most innovative farms of the time where, together with widespread mechanization, it employed almost exclusively dependent labor, in contrast with the prevailing Tuscan sharecropping tradition.
In the post-war period, the expropriation of the Maremma Authority undermined Marsiliana’s economic model based on mechanization and highly skilled labor, whose arable land went from over 3,000 hectares to the current 200 hectares, leaving the forest areas of 2,680 hectars unchanged. Those were difficult years, when agricultural activity was marginalized in favor of forestry and fauna.
In 1996 Duccio Corsini was involved, together with his sister Sabina, in the management of the estate. The goal is immediately clear: to return to Tenuta Marsiliana its agricultural vocation and at the same time, to enhance historic properties within a landscape of rare beauty.
After a wide ampelographic experimentation to understand which vines could best express the uniqueness of the place, 20 hectares of vineyards were planted, with the choice that has fallen on non-native vines but traditional for the Tuscan coast since years: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot.
The Principe Corsini winery produces organic and vegan wine and oil in the estates of Villa Le Corti and La Marsiliana.
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