History of Fattoria di Rodano

The precise origins of Rodano are unknown: the only information we have dates from the Medieval era, when pilgrimages started to Rome, since it is very close to San Gimignano and Monteriggioni, located along Via Francigena. 

There was a Benedictine settlement in Rodano, a place to welcome pilgrims as they rested, and their animals which they brought with them in transhumance, crossing the hillsides in search of pasture. 

Our knowledge is based on stories told by those who lived here over time, passed down from generation to generation. 

Rodano was Lilliano's farmstead owned by the Pozzesi family since the early Twentieth Century. 

This is when the man responsible for Rodano's transformation into a farm was born, Carlo Pozzesi.

Carlo Pozzesi

Carlo was a doctor who grew up in Castellina, Siena and Florence, where he completed his medical studies. 

Those who knew him say he was a highly professional and good doctor, as well as maintaining his strong ties to his birthplace, so much so he refused some very tempting job offers. 

He was in fact an excellent surgeon, renowned around Siena. 

The Castellinese remember him with devotion and affection, many of them were born and living thanks to Dr. Pozzesi. 

However, medicine wasn't his only passion, he also loved hunting. Carlo knew the area around Castellina well and when he heard Rodano was for sale he didn't think twice about buying it, in 1958. 

His love of farming, wine, oil and wheat production began. 

At the time, the families working in Rodano lived there and some families kept vines. 

The Gambassi, Perugino and Fontani vineyards are also mentioned. Those working on the farm were the same labourers who cared and loved it as if it was their own. 

Tenant farming still existed at that time and Dr. Pozzesi was generous and cared greatly about the people in Rodano.

Vittorio Pozzesi

Carlo passed his passion for hunting and farming, but not his love of medicine, on to his first-born son Vittorio. 

Vittorio studied Mechanical Engineering in Milan. 

Even if his family and work kept him away from Castellina, he was profoundly drawn to this Chianti town. 

He spent his holidays here. In 1968 Carlo left Rodano to his children, Vittorio and Franca. 

Vittorio started to manage the farm, transforming it into a real agricultural company. 

He planted the new vines in the early Seventies, expanding the vineyard. 

He extended the olive grove and gradually abandoned arable farming to specialise in vine growing. 

The cellars and houses were renovated at the end of the Seventies. 

In 1986 Vittorio retired from engineering and became a full-time farmer, fully managing the company: from production to carrying out all the bureaucratic and legal functions of the company. 

Such involvement expanded his farming know-how and he took on increasingly important roles in the Chianti Classico Consortium. 

Firstly, he became a member and then, in 1994, Chairperson of the Oil and Chianti Classico Wine Consortium, which saw his involvement over ten years.

Enrico Pozzesi

Rodano's history continues: Vittorio passed his know-how and love of the area on to his son Enrico, who, working alongside his father in managing the company, further improved it.