In 1792, our city of origin, Pollenzo, became part of the heritage of the Savoy family, which within half a century completed a substantial urban reorganization of the area. This transformation laid the foundations for the construction of an impressive architectural complex – the one in which we find ourselves today – destined to become one of the royal estates of House of Savoy and home to an important center oriented towards the development of the culture of food and wine quality.
Wanting to carry out this project, in 1832, King Carlo Alberto of Savoy bought the property of the Castle of Pollenzo and the adjoining lands to found a cutting-edge place in which to experiment and improve the yield of agricultural and enological activities. It is precisely in our wine cellars that Paolo Francesco Staglieno, enologist of the royal family, laid the foundations for the modern winemaking of Piedmontese red wines. In 1833, the Agenzia of Pollenzo was born.
The innovative project of House of Savoy continued until 1850, hosting, in the meantime, the Primary General Meeting of the Agricultural Association. This event was the first important occasion for public use of the Agenzia attended by many scientists interested in exploring the economic, managerial, technical, productive and social aspects that constituted the main objectives of the facility.
After decades of neglect and the flood of 1994, the entire complex of the Agenzia is undergoing a careful restoration work that allows the rebirth of a hub oriented to the development of the culture of food and wine quality. Thus, starting in 2000, thanks to the brilliant initiative of Carlo Petrini, founder of Slow Food, it was possible to acquire and bring this structure back to life with a well-defined objective: to create an educational and discovery center dedicated to the food and wine traditions of the Piedmontese territory and Slow hospitality.
Thus, after the restoration work completed in the spring of 2004, a hospitality complex was created consisting of the Albergo dell’Agenzia, the Corte Albertina and the Ristorante Garden, together with the Banca del Vino and the University of Gastronomic Sciences, a study center dedicated to training chefs from all over the world with multidisciplinary skills to apply science, culture and food economics to sustainable production and consumption.
Since 1997, the Agenzia of Pollenzo has been included among the Savoy World Heritage residences.
A recognition that gives even more value to our structure and to a territory, that of the wine-growing landscapes of the Langhe-Roero and Monferrato, already a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
