The Revival and Rededication of Borgo Finocchieto: An Inspired Idea

Vasco Pratolini’s Il Quartiere describes Italian life at the start of the nineteenth century this way: ‘Work finished after six in the afternoon; there was no real life, no genuine social warmth, except when we were in our streets and piazzas.’” Although modern conveniences have made private life warmer and brighter, the preference for outdoor, communal gathering spaces– a public life– still prevails in Italy. The piazza is the center of Italian life and is home not only to concerts, feasts, fairs, and markets but also to gatherings over morning coffee, the afternoon “passegiata”, or stroll, and everything in between. The importance of gathering, of coming together, has defined Borgo Finocchieto and its surrounding communities for centuries.

Borgo Finocchieto is nestled on a rural hillside in the Siena province of southern Tuscany, where it was a medieval farming village for hundreds of years. Its last generation of inhabitants, mostly farmers, finally abandoned it for industrial jobs and urban conveniences in the 1960s. What remained was a ruin, the skeleton of what was once thriving rural community. Its houses and sheds were arranged around a central piazza of dirt and tiremarks, a ghostly reminder of the central value and purpose of this place. The Borgo is located directly on the historic Via Francigena, the medieval pilgrimage route from Canterbury to Rome. It specifically connected the monastic stopovers of Monte Oliveto and Sant’Antimo and most likely hosted scores of pilgrims, merchants and adventurers through the centuries. Just down the hill, the town of Buonconvento, literally “good gathering place,” owes its own existence to travelers’ need for rest and exchange, one day’s journey south of Siena, during what for many was a voyage of discovery. The Borgo’s piazza was both a crossroads of the world and a place where the day-to-day personal interactions fundamental to life took place over hundreds of years. A son would have learned his father’s art of winemaking a few steps away in the cantina. Children would have sat during sunny midday meals listening to the stories of their elders. Snow was shoveled, flowers pruned, chickens fed. Birthdays were celebrated, losses mourned. This piazza was witness to life at its core.

In 2000, the village was in a state of stagnation, waiting for its own rejuvenation and rededication here in the cradle of the Renaissance. A new patron for a new millennium, an American of Italian ancestry, approached the reconstruction project with passion, teaming with a local architect and a crew of builders who had spent lifetimes working with traditional materials and old methods. Wherever possible, the structures were left untouched. One can still see the historic woodburning oven, at least 500 years old, outside Fede and can enter Finocchieto from the wide, ancient staircase. Its brick steps have been softly grooved by the passing of feet, possibly since before the fourteenth century. At the top of those stairs is the stone-carved Borghese crest, gracing the dining room as it has done for centuries, an indication of prior ownership by the powerful Sienese based family. Structural requirements have demanded much rebuilding, but the team took meticulous care to focus on integrating old materials and traditional methods. The decoration is equally faithful, using antiques where possible and careful reproductions elsewhere.

The revival of Borgo Finocchieto is not merely a physical reconstruction. It is a rededication to a purpose it has held for centuries, adapted to the present. Historically, this has been a stopover for people to gather on their way to enrichment or even enlightenment. What might happen if people were brought together in today’s world to appreciate the beauty of the land, its history, the sense of a renaissance that is inherent in the place? What might they experience when set off from urban sounds and the concerns of daily life in an unimpeded environment that could foster true openness? What might they be stimulated to accomplish when brought together in a place that is accommodating, socially inviting yet is also stimulating at its very core? Borgo Finnochietto is a place of conviviality, creativity, and synergy.

The Borgo encompasses twenty two bedrooms arranged around its central piazza, allowing it to function as its own community. Gathering spaces include a formal dining room and outdoor dining terrace, a living room with grand piano and study, media room, library, bar, conference facility and ballroom for fifty, cantina and wine tasting room, a professional teaching kitchen, an interior arcaded courtyard, a piazza, and extensive lawn and garden spaces with various shaded benches and a gazebo. Recreational facilities include a 60’ oval swimming pool, a fully equipped gym, spa, tennis and basketball court, and bocce court. Individual suites are ample, luxurious, and private, although the public spaces are intended to encourage coming together in all the forms that might take.

Such gatherings might include family reunions and special get-togethers, academic reunions, and retreats for groups united by special interests such as wine, cooking, art, architecture, music, history, biking, or other athletic pursuits. It could occasionally be a place for corporate retreats and team-building as well. At its highest purpose, it can be a place to share ideas: A literary gathering, perhaps timed to follow the Milan book fair, a political brainstorming session, or a conference on international human rights. All of these uses would be true to the Borgo’s storied history, but adapted to modern times.