Ager Falernus
History of a Civilization, of a Wine, of a Territory.
The most prized wine since the Ancient Romans
The current territory of the municipality of Falciano del Massico (CE), Ager Falernus in Roman times (4th century BC/4th century AD), gave its name to the first famous wine in history: Falerno. In fact, around 340 BC the Romans, making use of some tribes, generically called the “Falerine tribes”, revived the Magna Graecia, Etruscan and indigenous Campanian winemaking traditions, developing a renowned wine-growing district, divided by zoning, altitude and soil variety.
With the expulsion of the last king, Tarquin the Proud, we witness the birth of the Republic and a new political system based on the Senate and the Consuls. Rome undertook a gradual territorial expansion in Italy that initially focused on the unification of Lazio and later the rest of Italy, with key battles such as those against the Samnites and the Etruscans. Until 195 BC Rome controlled Italy and began the same process throughout the Mediterranean. It was during this period that the decision was made to also have its own representative wine, to be served after political and military victories. Ultimately, to have a “local” product that could replace the wines that until then had been considered high-quality and widely celebrated, but which mainly came from the Aegean and nearby Greece, and were therefore considered “foreign”.
He first began a brief search for the most suitable location for this cultivation, an area with the best soil, climate and ampelographic characteristics. In the end, Ager Falernus (which became Roman in 340 BC) was chosen, above all thanks to its particular characteristics as an area encompassing three corners: “sea, mountain, and lake.” This area was already historically suited to viticulture due to its pyroclastic/volcanic origin and its richness in thermal/sulfur water reservoirs. All this quickly made it the most exclusive and sought-after territory in the Roman world.
Subsequently, thanks to the multiplicity of terroirs and different altitudes, three types of Falerno wine were created:
FALERNUM: generic coming from flat land.
CAUCINUM: coming from vineyards on high hills, above 500 metres.
FAUSTIANUM: coming from the best hills both for exposure, slope, water drainage and soil quality.
It is in this area, that is, halfway up the hill (with an altitude ranging from 150 to 400 metres above sea level) that the current town of “Falciano del Massico” is located, a name which appears to derive from the root “FAUST-“. Faustianum also became the most expensive type of wine of the time, sold in Roman taverns at a high price and considered a wine for a select few.
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A Designation of Origin ante litteram
It was the Roman historian Titus Livius, the first of all authors and historians, at the end of the Republican era, to delimit its territory—a triangular shape with the base on the course of the Savone River and the summit of Mount Massico at its apex.
It was almost a geographical obligation since at our base we have and had the course of the Savone river. On either side, following the road towards the top of Monte Massico, we have and had two other areas, one on the left called “Sinuessanum” and the other on the right bordered by some roads that divided it from other famous locations. In short, the particular triangular shape was not actually chosen, but forced by the geography of the places and the natural or administrative borders.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire and during the Middle Ages, Falerno was produced under other names, thus losing its ancient prestige; traffic declined, although some sites on the terraced slopes of the Massico remained active. We find a partial return to fame in the Renaissance (16th century), when under the name of Fistignano, (Fastignano) it was praised by Pope Paul III Farnese, who, thanks to the Vatican bottling company Sante Lancerio, made good use of it.
At the end of the 19th century, phylloxera devastated the vineyards, but thanks to the commitment of local farmers, landowners, and notables, including our family, recovery began in 1910, a process that has continued to this day.
My family, and especially my father, has always paid greater attention to an ancient grape variety, the “Primarulo” (Primitivo), already mentioned in L. Menna’s essay of 1848 well before the arrival of phylloxera, but then also subsequently brought from Gioia del Colle thanks to the involvement of Baron Falco of Mondragone (member of one of the most influential families in the area). In the wake of this past and after varying fortunes, in 1989 the DOC recognition arrived, confirming a more specific valorization.