Casa Nova is a rustic farmhouse which was built circa 1491 and formed part of the agricultural estate Fattoria di Rignana, until it was sold off in the 20th Century. Rignana has a history of agriculture dating as far back as the 11th century. The estate is surrounded by vineyards, woodlands and olive groves.
There is an ancient mulberry tree on the terrace, with a large canopy and thick, gnarled trunk. The presence of the tree suggests the early inhabitants of the house from the Middle Ages were silk weavers. Silk production was an important part of the economy, with Florence and Siena among major centres of Italian silk weaving in the 18th and 19th centuries. Mulberry leaves provided the only viable source of income to the peasant farmer.
Rignana
Casa Nova historically formed part of the agricultural estate Fattoria and Villa di Rignana, as a ‘casa coloniche’, until it was subsequently sold off in the 20th Century. The estate comprised vineyards, woodlands and olive groves, which have been farmed for centuries by smallholders.
Rignana has a history of agriculture dating as far back as the 11th century, with many ‘case coloniche’ (stone farmsteads) which would house a family on the upper floor, their animals on the lower floor and pigeons in the dovecote (a source of food and fertiliser). The peasant families would produce grain for the making of bread, hay for the cattle, and looked after sheep and goats to make milk and cheese. Each house in Rignana, had its own 'forno a legna', a wood oven, to bake and cook. In 1700 vines were planted on the estate.
Badia a Passignano
The hamlet of Passignano, surrounding the historic hilltop Benedectine abbey Badia a Passignano, is a 10 minute drive away from Rignana. The ancient abbey was established by the archbishop of Florence, and in 1049 it became property of Vallombrosian order, a reformed branch of the Benedictines who specialised in viticulture and forestry. Historical archives in the monastery report many prominent events, including the stay of Galileo Galilei in 1587-1588 as a mathematics teacher. The abbey contains many beautiful frescoes including one by the
Renaissance artist Domenico Ghirlandaio.