Prince Moritz of Savoy (1593-1657), son of Duke Charles Emmanuel I. (1562-1630) and Caterina Michela of Spain (1567-1597), had a complex of villa, vineyard, grottoes, water features and gardens laid out on the hills of Turin at the beginning of the 17th century, modelled on Roman villas. The complex was extended in 1657 by his wife, Princess Lodovica Cristina of Savoy. After her death in 1692, the villa passed to Anne Marie d'Orléans (1669-1728), wife of Victor Amadeus II (1666-1732), Queen of Sicily and Sardinia. This gave the complex its name "Villa della Regina" (Villa of the Queen), which is still valid today.
Today, the Villa della Regina in the "Città Metropolitana di Torino" in Piedmont is a museum. The villa was often chosen as a film set. The first shoot was a short film from the pioneering days of silent cinema in Turin - the 1909 silent film produced by Ambrosio Film entitled "Spergiura". The most recent example is from 2014, when the mini-series "La bella e la bestia" (Beauty and the Beast) of Italian television was partly filmed inside and outside the Villa della Regina. The complex of buildings is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
From 2003 to 2006, the Balbiano winery reactivated the Royal Vineyard under official supervision. In collaboration with the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Turin and the National Research Council of Turin (CNR), around 2,700 Freisa v ines were planted by the Balbiano tenant on 0.73 hectares of vineyards (with three clones). After an expansion in 2015, there is now a total of 0.81 hectares. The first vintage produced by means of microvinification was 2008. From the 2011 vintage onwards, the vineyard was classified as DOC under the designation Freisa di Chieri Vigna Villa della Regina Superiore. The 2015 vintage comprised 4,184 0.75 litre bottles, 60 magnums, 16 jeroboams and 2 balthazars. The red wine is matured in concrete barrels without the use of wood in order not to increase the already abundant tannins. A detailed article about Villa della Regina with many pictures can be read on Katrin Walter's website.
Source: © Text and pictures by Katrin Walter simply walter simply ideas
