Principe Pallavicini

Origins and the seventeenth century

The Pallavicini family traces its long history to the thirteenth century. Its established presence in Lazio dates from the second half of the seventeenth century, associated with Cardinal Lazzaro Pallavicini and Stefano Pallavicini. The family subsequently included several cardinals, Pope Clement IX and Francesco Pallavicini, one of Rome’s first mayors after the city became the capital of Italy.

Principe Pallavicini identifies 1670 as the beginning of its winegrowing tradition. In that year Giovanni Battista Rospigliosi married Maria Camilla Pallavicini, a niece of Niccolò. The family’s longstanding holdings came to include properties around Rome, Colonna, Gallicano and Cerveteri.

Palazzo Rospigliosi Pallavicini

In 1704 Giovanni Battista Rospigliosi and Maria Camilla Pallavicini acquired the Palazzo del Giardino at Monte Cavallo. It became the residence of the Rospigliosi Pallavicini family and remains in family ownership.

Documents preserved in the historical archives of Palazzo Pallavicini record the family’s supply of wine to the Vatican and to the English royal household. The holdings associated with wine production included the Colonna estate known as Marmorelle and an estate at Cerveteri.

The 2016 production project

A new production project began in 2016 under Don Sigieri Diaz Pallavicini, son of Princess Maria Camilla. Its premise was that improvement required openness to change. A new winery for white and red wines was created with conical, Lem-type stainless-steel vats, allowing every vineyard to be vinified separately. The objective was to study the character and potential of individual sites while raising quality throughout the range, with particular attention to the local Malvasia Puntinata and Cesanese varieties. The complete wine range was also reconsidered and its packaging redesigned.

Changes within the range

In 2018 the estate began its sparkling-wine project with Pinot Nero, attracted by the variety’s established suitability for sparkling production. The resulting wine delivered complexity, freshness and aromatic refinement, but the estate sought a stronger expression of Lazio and its own roots. Pinot Nero was subsequently abandoned in favour of Malvasia Puntinata, which became the sole variety for the project.

Casa Romana also evolved from a Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon blend to pure Cabernet Sauvignon. The change was intended to give the wine a more direct identity and a clearer relationship with the Lazio territory.

Opening the company’s capital

In January 2022 the Pallavicini family admitted new shareholders for the first time in approximately 350 years. Those joining the family included Gabriele Bartolucci, a Luxembourg lawyer specialising in sports law, and Alvise Recchi, an entrepreneur and founder of the international Sodali group. Their shared objective was to strengthen the position of wines from Rome’s vineyards within Italian and international wine culture.

Location and landscape

Marmorelle, the largest estate, lies within the Municipality of Rome near Colonna. It occupies a historically important position in the Castelli Romani, between Rome and the edge of the crater belt of the Lazio volcano. Most of the estate’s vineyards and olive groves are concentrated here.

The vineyards stand at 200–230 metres above sea level. From them, the surrounding settlements of Montecompatri, Rocca Priora, Colonna, Monteporzio, Tivoli, Sant’Angelo Romano and Monte Celio are visible, as is Rome and the dome of St Peter’s Basilica.

Climate

The climate is mild. Winters are rarely severe, while maritime winds temper the summer heat.

Volcanic soils

The soils are volcanic and have predominantly alkaline-potassic chemistry. Their fertility is associated with elevated concentrations of potassium, magnesium, sodium and sulphur. A porous structure permits air movement and supports oxidation of organic matter.

Other vineyard soils are described as well structured and moderately deep, with a substantial lapilli component. These conditions accommodate Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and especially Cesanese.

Active Roman basalt quarries border the Marmorelle vineyards, providing visible evidence of the volcanic geology. Basalt—the solidified lava of the volcano—has long been used for Roman road paving, including sanpietrini. A compact grey volcanic rock called peperino, locally known as sperone, is also extracted nearby.