The famous personalities and the political and economic influence of the Strozzi and Guicciardini families, linked at various times by blood relationships, have left their mark not only on Tuscany, but also on Italy and Europe.
The Strozzi family, powerful bankers, statesmen, mercenary commanders, were the great rivals of the Medici: exiled from Florence following the rise to power of Cosimo dei Medici, they built their huge fortune abroad (Naples, Rome), which then paved the way for Filippo Strozzi, having returned from exile, to construct the magnificent Palazzo Strozzi, the supreme monumental testimony to the Florentine Renaissance.
Francesco Guicciardini, a contemporary of Niccolo Macchiavelli, who started his carrer as the latter’s secretary, was a prominent politician, a Governor of the Papal States, a philosopher and historian. He gained fame in particular with his fundamental work “The History of Italy” in which he describes the events in Italy between 1494 and 1532, a champion andprecursor of the Unity of Italy.
The current descendants of this noble lineage, Princesses Natalia and Irina, are also the direct great-grandchildren of La Giaconda, better known as Mona Lisa.
During the seventeenth century the descendants of the Strozzi Guicciardini family were united through a marriage in London with the Marlborough family of Sir Winston Churchill.
The business boasts over 1000 years of activity, with the earliest testimony to Cusona’s existence dating back to 994 AD. The Cusona estate spreads over 530 hectares and is situated amongst the green Tuscan hills, close to the medieval town of San Gimignano (known as the medieval Manhattan). The Guicciardini Strozzi winery produces 22 varieties of wines.
Challenge: this is the secret of Guiccardini Strozzi’s longevity. Each generation has to add another stone to this stupendous history. Passing through the ages by rising to the challenges of modernity and innovation, il tenute guaranties at the time creativity and tradition. Knowing what quality and respect of their products mean, their wines express what Tuscany has best: subtlety and power, fine aromas and delicateness.