Summary: The Wines Of Northern Italy

Read the summary and the most important questions on The Wines of Northern Italy

• 1 Fundamentals

• 1.1.3 The Middle Ages

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• What marked the fall of the Western Roman Empire?

  The fall of the Western Roman Empire marked the beginning of the Dark Ages.(roughly the 6th-13th centuries CE) Italy was about to experience more than 13 centuries of civil instability

• Even if wine production did not stop completely ( after the fall of the Western Roman Empire), the need for distinctive and qualitatively superior wines faded with the disappearance of Roman society. Why?

  In Roman culture, social standing had been reflected by the type of wine one was served at banquets and/or the quality of wine one was allowed to purchase. Whitout a reason for distinctive quality levels in wine, the drive for excellence faltered

• Who became the sheperds of the vine (after the fall of the Western Roman Empire)

  The wine culture was saved by the monastic orders, wine was needed for sacramental and medicinal purposes and was an important source of calories so Monks became shepherds of the vine

• Little has been documented about viticulture and wine from the fall of the Roman Empire up to the 11th century. What changed in this period?

  Wine storage shifted from terracotta amphoras to wooden barrels. Those barrels were not airtight, so quality and longevity declined significantly. Untill the 13th century, when a rising class of wealthy mercants bacame increasingly thirsty for something better in their glass.

• When did the first important, non Roman, document about vines appear?

  At the turn of the 14th century, it was written by Pier de Crescenzi. Other texts began to appear at this time with mentions of important Italian grapes as Nebbiolo and Garganega.

• Over time the communi gradually fell under control of powerful and influantial families and morphed int signorie (lordships). The ruling signorie were noble families. Name some of those families

  The Medici in Firenze
  The Sforza in Milano
  The Gonzaga in Mantova ( Mantua)

• Why was it inpractical to trade between Italian territories?

  Italy's multitude of political entities made trade impractical because of duties, tolls, and different units of measure. So several wine-producing regions began to focus on export to foreign markets

• 1.1.4 The Modern Age

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• What was the bridge between the Middle Age and the Modern Age?

  The Rinascimento ( Italian Renaissance), this was a cultural movement that preceded the European Renaissance. The movement began in Firenze, expanded all over the Italian Peninsula, and then moved to the rest of Europe

• Italy's destiny took an important turn in 1720, what happend.

  The Dutchy of Savoy obtained control of the island of Sardegna.
  Overnight, it became a major political power

• When the Dutchy of Savoy obtained control of the island Sardegna, Sardegna was united with the Savoy's other historical territories ( Aosta, Principality of Piedmont, etc) how was this composite state referred to?

  The Kingdom of Sardinia
  Savoy-Sardinia
  Piedmont-Sardinia
  The Kindom of Piedmont