It was this family who, in keeping with tradition, planted a Lebanese cedar just a few meters away from their house. This ancient tree represented the strength and longevity of noble family dynasties.

This majestic cedar still stands overlooking the Montefiesole hills. Today it is over 280 years old. Now a symbol of la Fattoria, it adorns the labels of all the bottles produced on the estate, denoting attachment to roots and tradition.

In the nineteenth century, la Fattoria changed owner and became the property of another large Florentine family – the Marquis Strozzi Sacrati of Mantua. A dynasty which, in the fifteenth century, was as important as the Medici family. The Strozzi’s marked Tuscan history.

…despite the grey light, they immediately fell in love with the estate.

This entrepreneur’s name was Marino Lottero. Before discovering la Fattoria, he had scoured the region for almost a year looking for a place for his family to live, far from the commotion of city living.

During the 1980s and 90s, when the estate was producing good quality wines, it also became a wonderful playground for dreams and adventures for the children of Marino and his wife Barbara: Faye, Nathalie and Fabian, who roamed the hills on foot, by horse or by bike.

Marino is a builder. He has energy to spare. Very quickly, he and Barbara embarked upon renovation and restructuring projects. They planted vines, olive trees and refurbished the villas which stood in ruins, with respect for Tuscan traditions. A few years later, even the mill was restored to its former glory.

The project expanded. The Estate was enhanced and modernized. Little by little, Marino’s ambitions grew.

This is when the stars aligned and destinies emerged. Marino’s eldest daughter, Faye, was growing weary of her career as a lawyer. A woman of action, Faye longs to find meaning in everything she does. After several discussions between her, Marino and her husband Dimitri, the couple decided to come and live in la Fattoria to develop the fledgling agri-tourism business.

Overnight, Faye and Dimitri, a former professional soccer player from AS Monaco, left their comfortable lives to become “farmers”.

Faye quickly started to relish welcoming tourists and helping them to create memories, the emotions she experienced as a child.

Yet, after a few years, Faye’s Lottero blood forced her to turn her attention to another blood which was just as precious.

The land.