The territory, Valpolicella

Valpolicella is a complex and fascinating territory, characterized by the cultivation of the vine. The dry stone walls are typical of the landscape. They are called, in dialect, “marogne” and you can see them at the border of the roads and supporting the terraces of the vineyards.

The region is at few kilometers from Verona and is bounded on the South by the river Adige and on the North by Lessini Mountains. On the West lies Garda lake, the biggest Italian lake, with its mild temperate climate which favors the cultivation of vines, but also, olive and cherry trees.

Valpolicella has been inhabited since Paleolithic time and has a strong historical and cultural identity.  The originated by the presence of an ancient people, of Rhaetian-Etruscan origin, the Arusnates, which inhabited the valley since the Roman times.

The Romans named the territory Pagus Arusnatium which roughly corresponds to the modern Valpolicella and had the center in San Giorgio. The main activities of this people were agricultural. With the fall of the Roman Empire, the region underwent numerous barbarian invasions and found its autonomy only in the Medieval times, thanks to a treaty signed by Federico della Scala in 1313, which defined the borders and the legal form of the “County Valpolicella”. Tranquillity and administrative autonomy were maintained  also under the domain of Serenissima Repubblica up thru the 18th Century. This allowed a certain political stability in the territory and an agrarian reorganization. The most important sign is still visible at our times: the cultivation of vines.