The renovation of the entire Pimpinella di Semifonte village took almost four years.

We rebuilt on the existing structures, seeking to rediscover the heart of those who came before us, finding beauty even in the walls.

We used lime, wood, iron, stone, and terracotta.

Mostly reclaimed materials, things that had ceased to be useful now shine again with their essence.

After all, La Pimpinella is at the center of a circle with a radius of about 28 km, within which we find cities like Florence, Siena, Volterra, San Gimignano, and Radda. This area is the essence of Etruscan, medieval, and Renaissance history, Chianti Classico, a region that, beyond its history, art, and culture, is a postcard in every corner.

It was in this very area that the ancient city of Semifonte was born at the end of the 12th century.

Dante Alighieri also speaks of the myth of Semifonte, mentioning it in the Divine Comedy: "If the people of the world who are most degenerate had not been a stepmother to Caesar, but as a mother to her son, such a fact is Florentine and changes and trades, it would have turned to Semifonte, where the ancestor went to seek" (Paradiso XVI, 58-63).

The great poet also mentions the famous Chapel of San Michele Arcangelo, still visitable, with a dome that reproduces on a 1:8 scale that of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence.

Furthermore, the great genius of Leonardo da Vinci visited the Scheto valley, as reported by some drawings in the Hammer Codex now at the British Museum in London, to study the regulation of rainwater: the famous "Leonardo's weirs," a system of sluices with the function of regulating the descent of the Agliena stream.

This valley is also the birthplace of Blessed Davanzato, the protector of Barberino, and the Barberini family, the ancestors of Pope Urban VIII.

It was indeed a great surprise when, during the renovation of the Pimpinella farm, the coat of arms of the noble family was unearthed.