Villa Oppi 1524

VILLA OPPI: began its activity as an ancient Roman post (a building where the traveler stopped to relax, restore and change horses) around 2000 years ago, thanks to its strategic location along the busy Via Emilia, halfway between the cities of Piacenza and Parma. It was common at that time to serve travelers dishes and products made directly on site, starting with wine, which was the main source of income for the estate. Postal service continued well into the early 1800s, when Marie Louise of Austria (second wife of Napoleon Bonaparte), Duchess of Parma and Plaisance, who often stopped here for refreshments on her travels in Piacenza, decided that the building would make a good private residence: it was ideally located and easily accessible from both Parma and Piacenza, and it enjoyed much better privacy compared to its own court in Parma. So she decided to buy the residence privately. Today we owe our thanks to Maria Luigia for introducing the first Agrarian Reform, which stimulated the agricultural development of her estates. The Reformation introduced new varieties of vines from France, and thus Villa Oppi produced the first "Italian Bordeaux" ever made in Italy in 1820. In fact, the VILLA OPPI WINE GROUP has become a recognized brand in the wine field of high quality worldwide, thanks to the 15 wineries under its control which produce many different varieties of premium Italian wines.