Territory

La Murgia

Click here and download the video. Murgia is a karst plateau of ancient origin which constitutes the backbone of the central Apulia. The Murgia name derives from the Latin word "murex", which means  very sharp rocks and  well identifies the characteristics of the rocky limestone hills of which it is made, especially in its northern part called “Alta Murgia”. An irregular and banner landscape without borders and breaks, but with the mysterious Castel del Monte that acts as a sentinel and represents a definitive benchmark.

In this uneasy habitat , the tenacious work of men has alligned the stones together creating dry stone walls, "trulli" and  "jazzi",  preparing ground for olive crops, vine and almond crops amongst oak forests and pasture valleys  theater of transhumance, contributing to the creation of this mesmerizing landscape dominated by nature.

La zona DOC. e DOCG. "Castel del Monte"

The noble and intriguing Castel del Monte is the ideal symbol to identify one of Apulia’s most exceptional winegrowing areas, which received its DOC designation in 1971 and its DOCG in 2001.

 The area covers the territory north of Bari that from "Alta Murgia" slope down towards the Adriatic sea dividing in two areas that show a expressive difference in landscapes and in soil types. Above 300 metres from sea level reigns the hard-limestone rocky plateau of the Murgia where you can find the traditional vineyards trained to spalliera bassa, or low vertically-trained canopies cultivated among pastures and fields. Between 180 and 300 metres, on the other hand, deep and loose tufa-limestone soils host an endless series of olive groves and vineyards.

In these areas characterized  by a Mediterranean climate , marked by cool, rainy winters and hot and dry summers, yet tempered by the sea breezes are cultivated  the native grape varieties such as the white Pampanuto, Bombino Bianco, Fiano and Moscato Reale, and the red Bombino Nero, Nero di Troia, Montepulciano and Aglianico,  have been flanked -thanks specifically to research done by Rivera agronomists- by the international white varieties chardonnay and sauvignon blanc, which are now included in the DOC Castel del Monte regulatory

Castel del Monte

The lonely and fascinating Castel del Monte dominates from one of the highest of the Murgia hills a wide area of Puglia, from the Tavoliere plains to the Gargano and Vulture mountains.

It was built by emperor Frederik II of Swabia in 1240 and represents since then a precise symbolic and spiritual architecture whose mystery continues to fascinate scholars of the whole world. The perfect geometry of the building features, together with the repeating of the octagonal shape, its proportions given by astrological and exoterical references.

Indeed it was not planned to defend a territory, but it was wanted by the emperor to celebrate himself and his temporal power through a symbolism that was typical of the Middle Age.