Storia della Famiglia

**The translation is at the end**

Oltre mille anni di storia: Gli illustri protagonisti della famiglia Strozzi e Guicciardini hanno segnato la storia non solo Toscana ma di tutt’Italia e anche Europa.

• Le due famiglie storiche di Firenze Guicciardini e Strozzi si sono unite in matrimonio numerose volte nel corso dei secoli, fino all’ultima volta alla fine del XIX secolo , unione dalla quale si sancisce definitivamente il marchio “Guicciardini Strozzi” dell’attuale azienda di Famiglia le cui origini risalgono al 994, testimoniato da una pergamena ancora esistente. Produttori di Vernaccia di San Gimignano, i Medici, malgrado la rivalità, ne ordinavano barili per il  consumo a corte che veniva anche inviata in “dono” al Papa a Roma.

 • I principi Strozzi, influenti banchieri, politici e uomini di Stato e condottieri, furono i maggiori rivali dei Medici. Famiglia del XIII secolo, hanno rappresentato a lungo la più importante e ricca famiglia Fiorentina, grazie ad un’intensa attività bancaria che permise di espandersi nell’intero continente e acquisire fama e fortuna. La magnifica costruzione di Palazzo Strozzi a Firenze fu avviata da Filippo Strozzi il grande. Sotto la protezione di Caterina Medici , regina di Francia, Piero Strozzi fu Maresciallo di Francia e comandante delle armate francesi, suo fratello Leone otenne incarichi e ambascerie. Il busto di Piero Strozzi ancora oggi si erige nella famosa Galleria delle Battaglie nel Castello di Versailles.

• The Guicciardini bearing the titel of Counts were an important Florentine family of the 13th century, held important functions in the political and social history of the city. A pre-eminent figure was Francesco Guicciardini (1483 – 1540) the historian, with whom Niccolò Macchiavelli collaborated. He was a prominent philosopher and politician, Governor of the Pontifical State, Ambassador of Spain for the Florentine Republic. Another important exponent was another Francesco Guicciardini, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Mayor of Florence, deputy in the Chamber and several times Minister of Foreign Affairs and Agriculture, Industry and Commerce.

• Nel XVII secolo i discendenti della famiglia Strozzi Guicciardini si sono uniti in matrimonio a Londra con i Duchidi Marlborough, famiglia a cui apparteneva Sir Winston Churchill.

• Tra gli illustri antenati, va ricordata in particolare Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, conosciuta come La Gioconda o Mona Lisa, immortalata nel più famoso dipinto di Leonardo da Vinci. Le principesse Natalia and Irina Strozzi, rappresentano la quindicesima generazione di discendenza in base alla documentazione dell’archivio di Famiglia.

• Il Principe Girolamo Strozzi fu tra i primi ad esportare e promuovere la Vernaccia di San Gimignano e fu tra i soci fondatori del Consorzio della Vernaccia di San Gimignano, nonché il suo primo Presidente, incarico ricoperto per oltre vent’anni. 

La principessa Irina Strozzi linguista ed economista di formazione, ha avuto la fortuna di crescere nel mondo dell’arte, seguendo le orme della linea materna e della sorella maggiore, Natalia, dedicandosi alla danza classica professionalmente da giovanissima a livello internazionale (con esibizione nei maggiori teatri del mondo) e a attività concertistiche di pianoforte. 

Ha poi  abbandonato la strada dell’arte per dedicarsi alla formazione economica del vino. Poliglotta, dopo varie esperienze lavorative in Italia e all’estero, è rientrata nell’azienda di famiglia. 

Oggi ricopre oggi il ruolo di Presidente del Consorzio della Vernaccia di San Gimignano, di cui suo padre, Girolamo Strozzi, è stato co-fondatore e primo Presidente.

L’azienda si concentra principalmente sulla produzione vinicola e di tartufo bianco, ma fino alla metà del Novecento l’azienda era una realtà agricola a 360° con  coltivazioni di cereali, barbabietola da zucchero e tabacco ed era rinomata per l’allevamento di bovini premiati a livello nazionale. La famosa Vernaccia di San Gimignano, inoltre, fu imbottigliata in una moderna bottiglia per la prima volta in tutta la regione nel 1933 da Guicciardini Strozzi, tralasciando l’uso tradizionale di fiaschi e damigiane.

The Family History

Over a thousand years of history: The illustrious protagonists of the Strozzi family and the Guicciardini family have marked the history not only of Tuscany but of all of Italy and also Europe.

• The two historic families of Florence Guicciardini and Strozzi have married numerous times over the centuries, until the last time at the end of the 19th century. With this last union the family-owned historical winery confirmed the “Guicciardini Strozzi” brand as the current commercial brand. The Winery’s origins date back to 994 as evidenced by a still existing parchment. Producers of Vernaccia di San Gimignano since the very beginning,  among the customers of this production it is possible to mention the Medici Family that, despite the rivalry with the Strozzis,  used to order barrels of Vernaccia di San Gimignano for consumption at the court which was also sent as a “gift” to the Pope in Rome.

  • The Strozzi bearing the title of Princes were influential bankers, politicians, statesmen and leaders, and are known in history as the Medici’s main rivals. A Florentine family of the 13th century, they have long represented the most powerful and wealthy Florentine family, thanks to an intense banking activity that allowed them to expand throughout the continent and acquire fame and fortune. The magnificent construction of Palazzo Strozzi in Florence was initiated by Filippo Strozzi the Great. Under the protection of Caterina Medici, queen of France, Piero Strozzi was Marshal of France and commander of the French armies, his brother Leone too obtained assignments and embassies. The bust of Piero Strozzi still stands today in the famous Gallery of Battles in the Castle of Versailles.

• The Guicciardini bearing the titel of Counts were an important Florentine family of the 13th century, held important functions in the political and social history of the city. A pre-eminent figure was Francesco Guicciardini (1483 – 1540) the historian, with whom Niccolò Macchiavelli collaborated. He was a prominent philosopher and politician, Governor of the Pontifical State, Ambassador of Spain for the Florentine Republic. Another important exponent was another Francesco Guicciardini, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Mayor of Florence, deputy in the Chamber and several times Minister of Foreign Affairs and Agriculture, Industry and Commerce.

• In the 17th century the descendants of the Strozzi Guicciardini family married in London to the Dukes of Marlborough, a family to which Sir Winston Churchill belonged.

• Among the illustrious ancestors, Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo should be mentioned in particular, known as La Gioconda or Mona Lisa, immortalized in Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous painting. Princesses Natalia and Irina Strozzi represent the fifteenth generation of descendants according to the documentation of the family archive.

• Prince Girolamo Strozzi was among the first to export and promote Vernaccia di San Gimignano and was one of the founding members of the Consortium of Vernaccia di San Gimignano, as well as its first President, a position he held for over twenty years.

Today the company focuses mainly on the production of wine and white truffles, but until the mid-twentieth century, the company was an all-round agricultural reality with the cultivation of cereals, sugar beet and tobacco and was renowned for cattle breeding nationally awarded. Furthermore, the famous Vernaccia di San Gimignano was bottled in a modern bottle for the first time in the whole region in 1933 by Guicciardini Strozzi, leaving behind the traditional use of flasks and “damigiane”.

Irina Strozzi, a linguist and economist by education, was lucky enough to grow up in the art world, following in the footsteps of her maternal line and her older sister, Natalia, dedicating herself professionally to classical ballet from a very young age and performing on an international level in the major theatres of the world as well as in piano concerts. Still very young, she abandoned the path of art to devote herself to economic education and to the family business. After various national and international work experiences, she has returned to the family business. She is currently President of the Consortium of Vernaccia di San Gimignano, of which your father, Girolamo Strozzi, was co-founder and first President.