Villa Zarri is a splendid building located in Castel Maggiore, surrounded by a centuries-old park, dating back to the 16th century but nevertheless presenting an elegant eighteenth-century style resulting from subsequent interventions.
Villa Zarri, now privately owned, is currently home to the Distillery of the same name, which also produces vintage tobacco brandy among other specialties.
Villa Zarri History
Villa Zarri dates back to 1578, but in the 18th century it was completely restored, modified and brought to its present form, beautiful, closed in a magnificent park, with a rich and elegant round tympanum in the center.
On the sides of the facade there are galleries once used as a greenhouse. In one wing there is a chapel dedicated to Saint Joseph in the center, in which an inscription recalls that in 1729 it was built by the Marquis Nerio Lorenzo Pietro Angelelli on his return home.
The last of the Angelelli family were Massimiliano, a famous philologist, Greek scholar and distinguished orientalist, successor of Cardinal Mezzofanti in the University Chair, and his daughter Marchesa Teresa Angelelli married to Rinaldo Simonetti. He spent a lot of time in the Villa together with his wife Teresa Bentivoglio, an appreciated painter, and hosted literary friends including Father Ireneo Arfo, a historian from Parma.
The Villa passed to the Brazzetti family first and then to Leonida Zarri who wanted to restore it to an ancient splendor which now everyone can admire.
Guido, a young nephew of Leonidas, who has always been passionate about spirits, had for some time been firmly convinced that high-quality production focused on Brandy could also be started in Italy.
It was the beginning of the Zarri distillery, which in 1990 presented the first brandy bottle, made naturally from Trebbiano from Romagna and Tuscany. Driven by the first absolutely positive results, Guidò fully engaged in this new adventure, focused on small productions of great value.
Today Villa Zarri, alongside the production of refined vintage Brandies, has expanded its range of products, also dedicating itself to the creation of other labels: Organic Nocino, Brandy of Chardonnay wine, Cherry Brandy and Amaro Zarri are just some of the jewels that are designed and built inside the walls of the wonderful Villa.