The Counts of Angoris – An Agricultural Economy Based on Sharecropping

At the beginning of the 1900s, the land where La Faula sits was owned by the Miani Counts of Angoris. The Tenuta d'Angoris, just outside Cormons, is still today a large agricultural property renowned for its wines.

Antique Venetian map of Ravosa and surroundings

The properties of the Counts of Angoris were held by a company called SACTA – Societa' Anonima Conduzione e Trasformazioni Agricole – based in Venice. However, the Counts' main income derived from oil trading in Rome, where one of their properties is still a landmark of the City today.

A Watercolour of the Villa of Angoris and Surrounding Vineyards by G. Wolff

In the 1950s, Luigi Count Miani of Angoris was one of the first bottlers of the fine wines of the D.O.C. Collio wine area, making it renowned in Italy and abroad. Apart from being a passionate thoroughbred horse breeder, the Count had a passion for peach-tree cultivation, which covered large areas of the countryside around the village of Mariano near Cormons/Gradisca. He selected early peach varieties which were sought after by the markets.

Villa Miani in Rome, Via Trionfale 151

On January 19th, 1940, Count Luigi Miani married Yolande Béatrix DE DAMPIERRE, of the Princes of Ruspoli, and had a son, Alexis. The Count also became known for the cultivation of peach trees in large areas surrounding Cormons.

In 1910, the Count decided to build a house within the property at La Faula to accommodate a family of sharecroppers. These families worked the land in exchange for tree stumps and wages. The house was built in three stages, starting with the west side.

a stonecutter

what women delivering building materials to the building gang would have looked like

Cecilia Foschiatto, Magredis 1907-2003, worked as a tree-stump remover

Map from the Austro-Hungarian Empire Land Register Where La Faula Sits Today

The Nicoletti Family were the first sharecroppers. Later, the Marano Family arrived in 1929 after the worldwide financial crash, bringing with them six children. In 1930, the Marano Family moved to Segnacco, and in 1945, three brothers became lorry drivers, one of whom was killed during a German attack on their way to Feltre.

Happy reading!