Falletti from Barolo Castle, Regional Wine Cellar, WIne MUseum

The first mention of a fortification on the hill that from Barolo Watch the valle Talloria dating from the 10th century. To this period dates back the granting of King Berengar I a local feudal Lord to build a defense against the attacks of the Magyars and Saracens then. This first settlement traces are still detectable in the structure of the donjon and the lower part of the Eastern Tower.

13th century acts testify to the castle to the town Alba, property that is a few years later by family Falletti. Here is setting up a branch of the House, as witnessed in 1325, that over the years made important renovations and expansion. The thirty existing dwellings around the Castle according to the cadastre of 1524 leave space gradually to new appliances of the residence.

Badly damaged by looting following the wars of the 16th century, the castle is rebuilt with major changes from James and Manfredo Falletti, keeping the new face until his death Juliette Colbert, last Marchioness, in 1864.

In the 19th century the castle became the Manor of Falletti, who stayed in Turin in 1814. Among the usual guests visiting Barolo is the writer and Patriot Silvio Pellico, friend and Advisor of Marquise, as well as responsible for the family library.

According to the last will of the Marquise de Juliette, upon his death in 1864 is established theOpera Pia Barolo: a moral body in charge of administering the family fortunes. Among the tasks attributed to, the activation of Barolo, an educational institution that, between the 1875 and 1958, saw sit on its banks much of Barolo and neighboring countries. It represents the only opportunity for years of study for young people of the area, in particular for the poor, they are also provided scholarships for excellence.

In order to accommodate the College Barolo, the castle is transformed deeply. During conversion, the medieval architecture is affected by major restorations that alter the original structure and giving the composite appearance which can be seen even today.

In the 1970, After a period of neglect, the castle was purchased by the municipality of Barolo with the help of a generous subscription promoted by citizens, local businesses and ex-students of the College. From this point there are rehabilitation and restoration work.

In the 1982 the Municipal wine cellar, founded eleven years ago, Gets the status of Regional Wine Cellar to represent nearby castle cellars all 11 municipalities of the area of origin of Barolo wine. The same year is the opening of the Hotel professional school, located in the English channel in which they host the classrooms of the old College, While already since the early 1970s, with the help of some volunteers, were open to visitors some rooms of the Castle.

Continuing this line of enhancement of the historic building takes shape to achieve a Barolo Castle Museo del Vino posted in castles of Langa and Roero: the WiMu, the most innovative wine Museum in Italy.

The WiMu It is a journey through the culture and the tradition of wine. A path designed by François Confino, the author of several Museum exhibitions around the world, including the national Cinema Museum at the Mole Antonelliana of Turin.

It starts from the top floor. A trip between darkness and light, between sound and color, above and below the plates of this miraculous land. The climate, the Earth, the timing of the seasons, the autumn colours and the silence of winter, the wisdom of the hand. Wine in history and art, in the kitchen and cinema, in music and literature, universal myths, and local traditions.

The WiMu is also a tribute to the history of the Castle and the famous people who have lived. The latest Marchesi di Barolo, Carlo Tancredi Falletti Colbert and his wife Juliette, most famous as Giulia di Barolo. The Patriot Silvio Pellico, one of the big protagonists of the Italian Risorgimento, that here was a librarian and which is preserved intact the study room.

And after the wine evoked and narrated, Here is the wine to live and enjoy. It comes down to the Temple of the Enotourist, in the historic barrels ' environments, where it unleashes the fulness of sensory pleasure. Here we meet the Barolo and other wines. Here we can enjoy them alone or under the guidance of experts. We learn to recognize perfumes, aromas, personality. Discover the link between wine and its territory. And here we continue our journey of virtual and real exploration, discovering a rich and generous.

The route ends in the most rewarding to the Enoteca Regionale del Barolo, in the ancient cantine nearby that held in baptism this legendary wine. The spectacle of the big labels and memorable vintages. Here we can choose our bottles and drop them at home.

The lounge room WiMu
Third Floor. Wine time
The birth of a great wine is the result of the unceasing work of nature, in a long and somewhat mysterious. IS, at the end of the day, the creation of a small universe, the genesis of a living being.
And if there are many items that I concur – the warmth of the Sun and the Moon influence, the soil quality and the effort of man – is the time to scan the vegetative cycle of the screw and bring the grapes to mature, a drumming gesture of the harvest and pressing, in "the path of the must from the tanks to the bottles.
And it is above all a matter of time the rest of the wine in barrels: is expected that patient fermentation processes allow the wine to release all its character.
1. The bar of the deities
To love wine, first among all, they were gods and goddesses. It is no coincidence, then, our journey begins at their sight. Is a kind of propitiatory Rite ", secular procession to go before you plunge into the solemn story of the birth of wine.
2. In the mists of time
The ticking of the metronome winged buzz of creation, obscure sounds appeared over ten billion years ago. Is il respiro del tempo, It is the beginning of everything. And also for wine is a matter of time: waiting for ripening, harvest season, the patient rest in the darkness of the cellars. Because it is in the deepest darkness that it all begins, only rare lights to indicate the path: like that, in 1985, the astronomer Edward Bowell identified as
the asteroid 6590, renamed ' Barolo '.
3. The Moon in tune with us
The Moonlight is gentle, pale reflection of Sun. But his incessant movement marks the passage of time, raises and releases beneficial tides, establishes a periodicity button and adjust: This precise and ancient times, reports the most auspicious moment for sowing and harvesting.
4. The Sun intensely
Intense and dazzling, the sunlight is creative force born from deepest darkness. By the time most secret recesses and darkness germinates life: as the grapes absorb the light to keep it secretly and unleash this energy with the fermentation process, so the wine will stand for a long time in the darkness of the barrels before offer, in all its glory, the tasters from around the world.
5. Our home in the universe
From the depths of the universe, approaching little by little, Here you can see the Earth. Is our home, so big and so small at the same time, delicate and malleable, so much so that his guests have been able to turn it, in some cases creating new shows of nature. Like here, in the Langhe, where the effort of man drew plots of vineyards as far as the eye can see.
6. The geometry of life
From the infinitely large to microscopic, all the living is made up of the same subject, Joint billions of possible combinations: the seeds, the grapes, la vigna, the wine itself consist of identical subject who lives within us, complex intertwining of strands of Dna.
7. The roots of life
The wine heart throbs in the depths of the soil, the roots of the vine ' stealing ' precious elements out of the ground to give aromas and flavours to the wine that will be. Differently: If a soil rich in calcium carbonate, with shades that range from grayish white to blueish, announces a robust wine, a clay soil and reddish-yellow offers a simpler wine, While from the calcareous soil Barolo produce its most intense perfume. Is a question of nuances, of different tones. The same that come alive in different shades of Red that we observe in a
chalice.
8. The carousel of the seasons
The alternation of the seasons, on these hills, is a ceaseless play of colours and engaging. And at any time of the year is an activity between rows, just like in cycle of miniatures of the Très riches heures du Duc de Berry (1411-1416), chosen to accompany the movement of the carousel that we ourselves operate sitting down and pushing on the pedals.
9. Say, do, work
Earth and Sun, light and darkness, the slow flow of time: all elements necessary for the birth of wine. But it's the man's job to make ' big ' a wine. Effort and passion mark deep into the hands of the vignerons: the result is harmony, as an invisible music that Gush from the fingers of a pianist ...
Second Floor. Wine in history and the arts
In the history of Western civilization the wine is a beverage any: is at the heart of its tradition, myth and metaphor of life. And so we see him emerge from every era, leaving his mark everywhere.
The wine, In short, accompanies the story of mankind, Since the most remote times: from Anatolia to Mesopotamia, passing through the ancient Egypt and Greece, the era of the Roman Empire and, through the Christian era and the middle ages, up to the 19th century.
And in all this flow of centuries, the wine has been – and continues to be – a «common», piece of inspiration for artists, in the broadest sense of the term. Wine and his world have influenced the cultural production of each historical epoch: the figurative arts, music, literature, Theatre and cinema have always devoted particular attention.
10. The history of wine
Tell the story of wine means aroused the memory of events sunk in myth. Means retracing the entire epic of humanity, turn their gaze back towards ancient times. And then, clutching his gaze to the Piedmont and the Langhe, find out how the story of a little piece of Italy and of an entire people is so deeply marked by the production of wine: also here, Since the most remote times.
11. 365 days
An ancient photographic equipment pointed through the window on a hill of Langa. 365 photos, one for each day of the year, to tell a landscape never equal to itself, always ready to give new shades.
12. The atelier of the painter Arcimboldo and Caravaggio, Manet and Cézanne, Matisse and Chagall. Even before Egyptian frescoes
and the pompeians, bas-reliefs and miniatures: the subject of wine is a source of inspiration for artists of every age. But the creative gesture, so strongly linked to the artist's inspiration, It is crucial even in culinary arts. The atelier of the painter is a world of colours: the canvas, still a Virgin, waits for the right ingredients to unleash emotions. In the same way, in a kitchen, the chef knows how to magically combine fragrances and flavors to create small works of art.
13. Artists in the kitchen
The chef of an ancient Langa cuisine, a young research chef. Everyone tells and explains to the other history and philosophy. Tradition or modernity? Rigour or innovation? Are old issues, elements of an ongoing debate. Also here, among the kitchen this kitchen, where delicacies are prepared for special guests: cross the threshold of a kitchen is how to access the scenes of a theater, just before a debut. Excitement and noise, power and energy. Then, silence: He goes on stage.
14. The music room
The wine doesn't sing only the drunk. In lieti calici great authors of all countries have found more tuned notes to seal cheer moments, of friendship, of poetry, of abandonment and consolation from human fragility.
15. The literature room
From the Greek lyric poets to contemporary novelists, writers and poets of all ages have not been able to resist the charm of wine as inspiration. Their words and their ways are before our eyes.
16. Divine shield
A real movie theater in miniature, with the Deco sconces, comfortable chairs, the darkness that makes the atmosphere. Famous walls affiches. Screen and pass the best moments that cinema devoted to poetry of wine, the scenes in which a Cup is celebrating a love, a conquest, a party, a dream.
First Floor. And Falletti Castle
The main floor of the Castle preserves the original family furnishings Falletti di Barolo. Is a small, dedicated to the figure of the Marquis Carlo Tancredi Falletti and his wife Juliette, to their fundamental role in the ' creation ' of the Barolo wine.
But it's also the need to preserve the atmosphere breathed, in these rooms, characters like Silvio Pellico and Camillo Benso di Cavour, the protagonists of the Italian Renaissance epic.
In these rooms, so, still resonate their paces, echo the names of Carlo Alberto and Vittorio Emanuele II, You can breathe the air of the unification of Italy epic. Because the birth of Barolo is a chapter of that story, populated by the same protagonists.
17. History of the castle of Barolo (Sala degli stemmi)
Military Manor, then noble residence and school: the history of the castle of Barolo follows Falletti family, adapts to their projects and dreams, and in particular to those of Juliette.
The golden age was that he saw the castle in country estate of the marquises (their official residence was Palazzo Barolo, in Turin). Until 1864, year of death of Juliette Colbert, in these rooms you wrote important pages in the history: the unification of Italy, but also that of the Barolo wine.
18. History of the wine Barolo (Library)
The Barolo is the story of the passion of the Marquis Falletti. But even the ingenuity of General Francesco Staglieno and enologist Louis Oudart that, from Verduno, Pollenzo and Grinzane Cavour, in farms of Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, made the first steps in what, soon, would become «» wine of the House of Savoy and, shortly thereafter, the King of wines.
19. 325 carrà
Exist, in the long and fascinating story of the birth of Barolo, a crucial moment: the one where Barolo becomes ' the wine of Kings». Intrigued by the reputation of the new wine, the King Carlo Alberto asked the Marchesa di Barolo can taste. So it was that well 325 carrà (barrels) di Barolo – one for every day of the year, excluding abstinence of lent, forty – arrived at the Royal Palace on wagons pulled by oxen, crossing the center of Turin citizens astonishment.
20. Invitation to the banquet
Faces of people of the country. Faces from Barolo. Old photo resurfaced from trays become life-size silhouettes. By magic word find. Each one tells what he knows. Adds a piece to what we say. Is a persistent voice, in country bounces from mouth to mouth: the castle is preparing a fabulous feast, with prestigious guests.
21. The feast of harmony (Salone delle quattro stagioni)
Here are the protagonists of epic of Barolo wine: at the same table the statesman Camillo Benso conte di Cavour, General Francesco Staglieno and the French enologist Louis Oudart, Juliette Colbert and the characters of the Court of Charles Albert in which Juliette had sent the famous «carrà» of Barolo wine. An exceptional banquet, ever went on stage: is stage fiction, heartfelt dedication. But it's sincere harmony, the pleasure of being together, as with any festive feast.
22. Silvio Pellico
Patriot, poet and writer, Silvio Pellico League part of his life in these places. We arrived after the exile and imprisonment at Spielberg, caused by its participation in the carbonari movement of the Italian Risorgimento: an experience recounted in the famous Le mie prigioni, among the best sellers in Europe of the nineteenth century. Is the 1833 While Pellico's Administrator accepts the family library Falletti, following the marquises in their travels between Torino and Barolo.
An employment relationship intended to become – with the Marquise specifically – in friendship, sharing ideas and cultural interests.
23. The Marquise
Of noble French family, the Marchesa di Barolo Piedmont came in 1814, at twenty-eight: Thanks to an extensive education and an even more solid religious education, He devoted his existence to the weakest, the marginalized. We like to think that here, in his country residence, He began to imagine a way out for the marginalized: for women in prisons at the time lived in inhuman conditions, for young commoners have no means, for children of the most disadvantaged social classes.
Basement. The College Barolo and the Temple of the Enotourist
24. The Class C College Barolo
On testamentary Juliette Colbert claims the castle became the seat of Barolo, for the poor Catholic boys of the area. The classrooms were not very different from that in which we invite you to dine. Teachers and lessons, probably, were in fact much less pleasant. Here a patient «virtual» master helps us review, He explains that they still do not know the secrets of wine. It's… There questions!
25. The Temple of the Enotourist
The journey comes to an end. After the wine narrated, sang, evoked, Finally the wine tasted in the fullness of the five senses. Here we learn playing to recognise the scents and the colours. Here we discover the personality of the great cru of Barolo, Perhaps under the guidance of an expert sommelier. From here we can to explore the landscape of the hills. To visit a row, a cellar or another castle, to meet with a producer and tell his story. O
even just to hide in an Inn or restaurant where we have a recognized among the best in Italy, and perhaps in the world.