Fattoria I Bonsi
INFOVia I Bonsi 47 Reggello (FI) Website – www.agriturismoibonsi.it |
It seems that Fra Filippo Lippi, the Carmelite artist, was inspired in his paintings by the olive-groves of I Bonsi, which at that time was owned by the convent of the Carmine in Florence. We don’t know whether he took part in pressing the olives, but a very ancient stone and wooden olive-press is still to be seen there. It’s certain that the cultivation of the olive in this area goes back to the Middle Ages, and today the principal crop is still the olive. I Bonsi is a large farm on the slopes on the Pratomagno, 400 metres above sea-level in the district of Reggello. In folk memory, Reggello means oil of the very best quality. It’s a very particular oil with definite characteristics which distinguish it from the oils of neighbouring areas. The terraces divided by drystone walls face south, and this together with the type of soil makes far the cultivation of trees which yield a delicious oil, with an intense perfume; fruity and rather peppery. These characteristics are encouraged by the process of cultivation. The use of biological methods safeguards both the olives and the surrounding environment. With its new specialized olive-groves, introduced after the 1985 frost, I Bonsi takes its place among the very best of the Alto Valdarno producers. In the farm’s experimental fields research is carried out with a view to improving still further the quality of the oil. The harvest takes place early and is done by hand, with an eye to quality rather than quantity. The olives are cold-pressed immediately in the recently restored olive-press at the farm, where anciecent mill-stones, robots and stainless steel coexist perfectly. Age-old tradition is harnessed to modern technology ensuring the highest quality with optimum hygiene. Meticulous care at evetystage of production creates Laudemio I Bonsi, which is only offered for sale after rigorous testing and tasting, so that the consumer is guaranteed a product of certain provenance and the highest quality. |