Petra Winery in Suvereto , Italy
1999-2003

Project 
1999-2000

Construction
2001-2003

Location 
Suvereto , Tuscany , Italy

Client 
Terra Moretti, Dr. Vittorio Moretti

Structures 
Moretti Construction Industries, Brescia

Net floor area
ca. 7'200 m²


Set on the hillside overlooking a broad expanse of vineyards in Suvereto, in the inland area of Piombino, the Petra winery presents itself to visitors as a cylinder in Prun stone, cut across by a diagonal plane set parallel to the slope, with two porticoed wings facing seaward. This image of a constructed central volume with a powerfully plastic image and the barchesse – porticoes – on the sides reinterprets the sprawling villas typical of the Tuscan countryside, where the land is embroidered with patterns created by vegetation – vineyards in this case – enticing the visitor to examine the architectural work more closely. The frontal effect of this construction, with the central stone cylinder and its circular crown studded with olive trees, becomes a “designed flower” gracing the entire hillside. It is this image, extended over the endless rows of wineyards, that points to the existence of areas inside the mountain where the winery’s production process takes place, from pressing grapes to bottling wine. In its depth, the ground floor houses the central cylinder as well as the space set aside for the barriques in which the wine is aged, and a long tunnel pierces the mountain, ending in front of a rock wall: here, the heart of the hill takes on a central role, exquisitely evoking the ancestral values that are entwined with the land and are still part of the sheer mystery of winemaking. Visitors are ushered into the bowels of the hillside, almost as if to dispel any possible doubt about the nature and origin of what the bottles contain. To give the Petra winery a specific image, the architect chose to create a powerful symbol within the landscape, instead of building a more conventional industrial complex. Indeed, the latter was deemed restrictive with respect to the generosity shown by Terra Moretti, which alongside its quest for high-quality products also grasped this opportunity to redesign the landscape in a compelling way.