Our Story

The story of Tenuta di Pietra Porzia, agriturismo near Rome, is closely linked firstly to the events that characterized the ancient Roman Empire, then to the Vatican State and its immense properties in the Agro Romano (the rural area that surrounds Rome).

For half a millennium, Frascati has been the most sought-after holiday destination by the Roman aristocracy thanks to its ventilated climate conditions, the best ones to prevent malaria, an illness that, especially during the summer, made living in the city very dangerous. Hence, it must not surprise that the hilly area of Frascati was split into different sub-areas, each one belonging to a different villa. Some of them do exist still today, and the same villa in Tenuta di Pietra Porzia was built on a high base in order to preserve the remains of an ancient, still existing Roman villa.

Tenuta di Pietra Porzia in ancient history: in 496 BC, Romans and Latins went to war against each other in a great battle fought on the shores of Lake Regillo, just in the middle of the great natural amphitheater where today Tenuta di Pietra Porzia stands. In the darkest hour of the fight, Romans prayed to the Dioscuri gods. They were the twin sons of Jupiter and, descending from the sky, they lead the Roman army to victory.

According to a plaque found in Frascati, in 200 BC the estate was owned by the gens Porcia, a large family of the Roman senate to which Marco Porzio Catone belonged. Later, he became a famous and important Roman agriculture historian.

From the Middle Ages to the Renaissance: from the mid-thirteenth century AD, the area of ​​Frascati became a fiefdom of Colonna princes family, who have been documented as being also owners of the feud of Pietraporzia. The tower dates back to that period, and today it is part of the guesthouse of the Estate. It is historically and traditionally linked to the figure of the beautiful wife of a member of the Colonna family.

In 1522, the Colonna family sold the fief of Frascati to the Farnese family which, immediately after the appointment of Pope Paul III (1534-1549, belonging to the Farnese family), was given to the Vatican State which owned the whole area for centuries.

From the eighteenth century to current days: in the Papal States’ general land register of 1714, the “Quarto di Pietra Porzia” with its maps are reported. The record includes the current Tenuta di Pietra Porzia.

In the 1835 Gregorian land register, updated in 1890, a detailed map of the “Quarto of Pietra Porzia” Estate is drawn, along with the “Regina Lake” and a small part of the Pantano Estate of the Borghese Princes.

About a century ago, Vittorio Giannotti, grandfather of the current owners, the Giulini family, bought Tenuta di Pietra Porzia together with the Borghese land. Subsequently, he commissioned the building of the Villa with its postmodern style. It was designed by the architect Luccichenti, the same one who designed the garden in front of the villa with the access stairway and the plants in perfect symmetry together with the cypress avenue that links the cellar to the villa. The modern villa was built on a high base in order to save the ruins of the ancient Roman villa which still exists in the basement.

Today, the ancient Roman villa of the Giulini family and its guesthouse have been transformed into the perfect farmhouse for your holidays to Italy with its 12 rooms, a restaurant, and a swimming pool.

The living room of the villa has preserved traces of what once was the dining room, the sitting room, and the library. In the rooms, some of the furniture of the historic house allows you to enjoy the atmosphere of the past, surrounded by the typical Italian vineyards of the Roman area with a splendid view and in absolute silence.

Today, Pietra Porzia is also a wine estate accommodation that produces 250,000 wine bottles per year, with grapes coming exclusively from our vineyards, treated with production techniques that guarantee a very low content of sulfites. In fact, Frascati Doc, Frascati superior DOCG, Cannellino, Malvasia and Lecino (just to quote few of our wines) contain less than the half out of the maximum sulfite quantity permitted by law.

Other than the wine production, we are also proud to make important quantities of our own extra virgin olive oil.