Villa Rubini is among the oldest family-run companies in Italy, a tradition that has been handed down for over 200 years. Located in Spessa di Cividale in an enchanting hilly area in the heart of the DOC Colli Orientali del Friuli area, the villa is surrounded by hectares of vineyards and offers visits to the park with old trees, tasting tours, holiday homes near the property and of course it is the perfect location for weddings and particularly suggestive events.
Villa Rubini History
Already from 1500 we have the first fruits of the Praducello estate, a small agricultural center with a small villa, a hunting reserve of the Boiani family. It then passed into the properties of the de Rubeis family, who built the current Venetian villa in 1720 and expanded agricultural activity.
Count Domenico Rubini bought the Spessa estate in 1814. In those years, the company mainly cultivated mulberry, for the breeding of the silkworm. The Spessa estate was among the largest silk producers in Friuli, where a hundred people were employed, but even then high quality wines were produced.
In the thick estate, the silkworm was kept on growing and the vine was cultivated even when Pietro succeeded Domenico.
The turning point came with Pietro's son Domenico. He began his agricultural studies at the University of Portici in 1885, when agriculture was almost held in contempt, and thus helped to push numerous other landowners to follow suit. Domenico Rubini decided to set up a company nursery, where he selected Merlot clones and Cabernet Franc.
Villa Rubini has a long and rich history, of which fortunately there are material and documents left, and for this reason we had the idea of creating a small exhibition of what remains, surviving wars and difficult periods, until to arrive today, true testimony of a world that no longer exists.
Two wars, which saw a succession of military occupations, by all the armies that fought in our areas.
The right wing of the Villa has remained intact since the end of the Second World War, because it has never been used or restored, and some furnishings and photos of the time bear witness to this. From the Great War there are the "writings" reported on the door frames indicating the quarters of the officers, non-commissioned officers and troops.
The photos of the time, with Prince Umberto of Savoy visiting, indicate a backwardness of a territory plagued by two wars, but also show us the vineyard of Tocai Friulano, which is still there today, in front of the cellar entrance, witness of this dark chapter of Europe. Then there were the German army, the fleeting encampments of the partisans and the installation of the allied army, of which a list of the damage caused by the troops to the Villa, compiled by Eng. Pietro Rubini returned from captivity in Kenya, and compensated by the American administration.
Eng. Pietro Rubini, son of the agronomist Domenico, designed telephone lines in southern Italy, mines in Kenya, roads in Colombia that are still traveled today and then returned to his Spessa estate. It has brought it back to its former glory and, like its predecessors, has given its contribution to the development of viticulture in the Cividale area. He was founder and first president of the Consortium for the protection of the Colli Orientali del Friuli DOC wines, realizing that only a development and an identification of the territory will enhance our wines and bring them to the top of world oenology. He was a founding member of the Duchy of Friulian wines, an organization that rewards those who distinguish themselves in the promotion and enhancement of Friulian wine.