La Marchesa wine estate: Our History

La Marchesa was established from the merging of two estates, La Marchesa and La Saula, which were joined and separated multiple times over the centuries. Its history spans five centuries, reconstructed from archival documents still preserved in the estate’s library.

The Sauli Marquises

In the mid-1500s, the Republic of Genoa built the Bocchetta road to reach Novi Ligure directly without crossing the Duchy of Milan. During this same period, the Saula farmhouse—today our wine resort—was established by the Sauli Marquises as a shelter for pilgrims traveling the Via Francigena to board ships at the Port of Genoa.
Through continuous acquisitions of vineyards and grain fields, the Sauli family, before their lineage ended in 1730, came to own all the lands that now comprise La Marchesa and La Saula. They constructed part of the villa, which dates to the 17th century. In 1730, the Sauli properties began to be sold; La Marchesa and La Saula were transferred to different owners. In 1741, the Oratory of Saint Luigi Gonzaga, still standing today, was built at La Saula.
This is the only verified information between 1730 and 1780.

The Corte or Della Corte Marquises

Around 1780, another family, the Corte, appears. Feudal lords under Ludovico il Moro, they were forced to flee Milan after opening the gates of the Sforza Castle to the French. Two branches of the family settled in Pavia and Novi Ligure, where they obtained a chapel to the left of the main altar in the Collegiate Church. In 1780, Giacomo Corte expanded the villa, renovated the estate, and received permission to build the Chapel of the Guardian Angels at La Marchesa, replacing the chapel at La Saula, which was too small and remote to ensure the spiritual well-being of the peasants. This document indicates that La Marchesa and La Saula were once again united, but only briefly, as after the Corte family went bankrupt in 1814, La Marchesa and La Saula were purchased by separate owners.

The Giulini d’Arola Family

History sometimes creates curious coincidences: an ancestor of the current owners of the estate, Bartolomeo Giulini d’Arola, passed away young in 1738, leaving a substantial fortune that included 10,000 gold lire loaned by the guardians of his minor children to Marquis Siro Corte of Pavia, who repaid the principal in 1780 but left the interest unpaid. It is intriguing to think that with this sum, Marquis Corte may have acquired Tenuta La Marchesa, which then passed to his heirs.

The Pavese Family

After the death of Giacomo Corte on 1814, La Marchesa was auctioned and purchased by the Pavese, the most prominent family in the area, active in the silk trade as evidenced by the mulberry trees still found at La Marchesa and by the memory of the frames used to raise silkworms.

The Raggio D’Azeglio Family

In the late 1800s, the Raggio D’Azeglio family, after a series of successful ventures, became counts, then marquises, and acquired La Marchesa and La Saula. Reunited once again, they became part of a 4500 acres estate covering the entire Gavi area.

The Raggio family began selling the estate in the mid-1900s, once again separating La Marchesa and La Saula.

The Giulini d’Arola Family

In the 1980s, La Marchesa, under the Giulini family, was restored to its former splendor, with the same 190 acres of land as in 1730. The villa was restored and now contains extraordinary art collections, the chapel was returned to its original purpose, and the lemon house was transformed into a museum of rural life. Much attention was devoted to restoring the gardens: the Italian garden in front of the villa, the fruit and herb garden, and the water garden by the lake, with a succession of blooming flowers culminating in the spectacular lotus blossoms.
In the 140 acres vineyard, Gavi and native red wines of Piedmont are cultivated. La Saula, once again united with La Marchesa, has become the estate’s wine resort.
The archives are accessible on the Archive Day for Historic Estates.