La Fontaccia farm was opened in 2010 and consists of 14 hectares of land, divided between woods and olive groves. This farm exists since centuries and was abandoned in the early ’80. The recovery of agricoltural fields and of the buildings aimed environmental, agricultural, energetic and working sustainability. This is why, three years from the beginning of our business, we became a certified organic enterprise. We personally take care of every aspect of the farm. An orchard, a vegetable garden and the chickens provide us and our guests fresh, seasonal and local food.
Our Farm
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
We produce extra-virgin olive oil from Tuscan cultivars such as Frantoio, Pendolino, Moraiolo and Leccino. Our olive groves is about 3 hectares wide and has about 450 plants of mixed varieties. In the month of November we harvest olives mainly by hand or with light tools (beaters). We do not own a oil mill, so we bring our olives to one of the best oil mills in the area, which operates with latest generation machinery, at low speed and with a cold extraction method. The Extra Virgin Olive Oil we produce is obtained exclusively from our olives. Our EVO oil is widely used in our kitchen it’s available to our guests for tastings and direct sales.
Fruit confitures
Just in the back of the main house we planted a orchard made with antique varieties of fruit trees, selecting local types that can easy fit in this area. The aim is to have healthier plants, less in need of constant car to achieve a stable production over the time. Figs, plums, cherries and pear trees where already here way before we moved here and they provide an excellent base for a small scale production of confiture and dried fruit that we sell and serve at breakfast.
Vegetables
We take care with love and dedication to our vegetable garden following the organic and natural method, so we can have fresh, seasonal and local vegetables in our kitchen. The drip irrigation is the best way not to waste the water from the well stocked in the ancient brick lavatory we restored.
Chickens
In 2014 we joined the project “Adotta du galline” (take two chickens) sponsored by the local public administration. The idea was to give for free two chickens to whoever was interested in the area, provide a basic lesson to guarantee their heath and needs and contant checks over the time. Since then these amazing animals are animating the Agriturismo, providing eggs, reducing green waste from the kitchen that they eat and giving the chance to our guests to learn a lot from them. The new chicken cup has every comfort, including an automatic door that keeps them safe at night and free to roam around during the day.
CARE FOR OUR TERRITORY
Historical images of the valley show how a few decades ago. agricultural activity was much more extensive than it is today, obviously to the detriment of the wooded areas. With the goal to maintain biodiversity and a good balance between the cultivated part and the wild, we recover olive trees and fruit trees “trapped” in the wild bush, preserving even the vast areas that nature transformed in the last decades.
It’s fundamental to recover and make safer and efficient the ancient system of terracing and canalizations that has for centuries maintained the hydrogeological balance of the valley and that is present in our land.