Valpolicella is a region famous throughout the world for the production of Valpolicella wine and Prun stone,
TERRITORY OF VALPOLICELLA
Valpolicella classic: Negrar, Marano Valpolicella, Fumane, San Pietro in Cariano, Sant’ Ambrogio Valpolicella, Dolce’, Pescantina, Sant’ Anna d’Alfaedo, Parona (frazione di Verona).
Valpolicella area is not only a valley but a set of small valleys that slope towards the south hills of Lessini behind Verona. Limited to the south by the Adige river which separates dall’agro Verona and the Garda moraines to the north the peaks of Lessinia separate it from the confines Trentini, east of the city is divided by the hills of Parona and Quinzano while to the west the mountain Pastel the separates from the Adige. Valpolicella boasts a mild climate most of the year, there is cultivated the vine, olive, cherry, peach and kiwi. Its geographical location makes it an area rich in agriculture. Here in Valpolicella are close to the hills of the areas with microclimates, in these cases, the permanent exposure to the south of the town fosters an atmosphere that could be called sub-Mediterranean flora and fauna that have characteristics of countries with much lower latitudes, in sometimes with conditions more similar to those of the Ligurian Riviera than to those of the Po Valley.
HISTORY OF VALPOLICELLA
Several findings indicate that the Valpolicella was inhabited since the Stone Age, of particular interest is a cave, called “Riparo Solinas” (Shelter Solinas) used by Neanderthals, other findings are areas of Castelrotto, Molina, vaio of Marchiora and Scalucce, but the main one is on the mountain Loffa: the discovery of 27 huts made of slabs of stone, inside, weapons, tools and various items of flint, bronze and iron.
During the second century BC begins the Roman domination, the Valpolicella at that time was inhabited by Arusnati who settled here from the fifth century BC, evidence of this people lapidary tracks that are now preserved at the Museum of Lapidary Maffeiano and in the museum attached to the Pieve di San Giorgio. Near the ancient Pieve were found to share many votive statues in terracotta depicting gods, animals and people of Arusnati attributable to that, various findings, it could be established it consisted of a population of patrician families and land-owning.
With the fall of the ‘Roman Empire and the arrival of the barbarians there is a general deterioration of living conditions has stabilized with the establishment of the Lombards. With them Valpolicella, which already boasted some notoriety thanks to the wine produced, became an important military area centered in Castelrotto where, around the ‘eleventh century a castle was built; findings of the Lombards are in the parish of St. Giorgio. In the ninth century the economic and social conditions of the Valpolicella greatly improve and so begin to take shape lordships and castles, later also born religious institutes and monasteries, so that towards the middle of the twelfth century, the territory is distributed in four “piovadeghi” (churches ), two existing St. Florian and St. George and two subsequent Negrar and Arbizzano (the latter is of minor importance).
With the fall of the Scala in 1387 are replaced by the Visconti and divide the territory into “vicariates” division that is maintained even later, when the Serenissima is the Valpolicella maintaining the previous administrative divisions and religious as well as various tax privileges, as borderland with Trentino and his loyalty would be helpful to ensure their safety. All the Valpolicella was a vicarage divided religiously into three piovadeghi, each headed by a parish church, St. George S.Floriano and Negrar. During the Venetian period, long and fruitful, several gentlemen of Verona landowners make build “Venetian villas” where they are to abitare.Nel 1796, the French army of Napoleon conquered Verona and its territory, but the population is organized in a revolt in favor of the Serenissima that is called “pasque Verona”, this is hardly suppressed by force, executing numerous inhabitants. With the Treaty of Campo Formio is decreed the end of the Venetian Republic and deleted vicariates, dividing the territory into districts, with the French Valpolicella loses all forms of privilege he had enjoyed for many years, when the Veneto is surrendered to the Austrians back to a period of stability and administrative reorganization. By the mid-nineteenth century ideologies of Renaissance disclose here, but mainly among the population more comfortable as the common people is well under Austrian rule, but to prepare the conditions for changes in the wars of independence are a series of harsh winters, the outbreak of the vine and the silkworms that undermines the Valpolicella in 1866 that goes through the entire Veneto region in Italy, but the difficult living conditions even started years before pushing a part of the population emigration. At the end of the century is activated the railway line Verona-Goat-Garda, facilitating communications, as new economic boost to zona.Con the arrival of the First World War, many young people are called to the front, but the economy of the area is not affected heavily, especially small farmers, see increase revenue by raising product prices. With Fascist Italy, as a result of an administrative reform, the municipalities of Valpolicella are reduced to six, Fumane, Sant’Ambrogio, Marano, Negrar, San Pietro in Cariano Pescantina.