History of Our House in Casore Del Monte
Our rustico was built in the early 19th century by the great-grandfather of our current neighbor, Arcangelo Benedetti (now 92 years old).
Country houses of this kind were mainly built from roughly hewn granite or sandstone. The material for our house may even come from our own property. 200 years ago, where our forest now grows, there was a quarry that supplied the village of Casore Del Monte with building materials. The narrow, steep terraces are a possible indication of this. The old name of our estate, ‘Lo Scasso’ (the breach), also suggests this.
Arcangelo Benedetti was born in this house, and until the early 1980s, he and his wife Tosca ran a chestnut and olive farm on the estate.
When a relentless cold wave swept through Tuscany in 1980, destroying nearly 100% of the olive groves, the Benedetti family was forced to secure their livelihood through wage labor in the nurseries of Pistoia and sell their house.
Through fortunate circumstances, they were able to achieve a very favorable sale price for that time by selling the old farmhouse to a German artist commune, who, in their enthusiasm, placed a down payment of 6,000 DM during the first viewing.