Castello di Semivicoli: an experience of history, architecture, and taste

Among the rolling hills of Abruzzo, Castello di Semivicoli stands as a historic residence built between the 17th and 18th centuries, a mansion that for more than three hundred years has dominated the surrounding landscape while preserving its original identity intact. Within its walls, authentic traces of time are still carefully safeguarded: rigorously restored interiors, ancient materials, and architectural details that reveal a long, complex, and richly layered history.

The building welcomes guests into eleven distinct rooms, where contemporary design engages in a refined dialogue with the historic architecture, never overpowering it. Each space is conceived to enhance the spirit of the place: the restored portico, the private chapel, the olive mill, the wine cellar, and the production areas that bear witness to the castle’s agricultural heritage. These are spaces not merely to be observed, but to be lived fragments of a suspended time, far removed from the rhythms of everyday life.

Among the rooms, the “Monastero” Junior Suite is one of the most captivating. Quiet and intimate, it preserves original materials that keep the breath of the past alive. The most striking feature is the internal door leading directly to the castle’s church via an elevated passage, once reserved for the nobility: a discreet connection that allowed attendance at Mass without being seen, and which today continues to evoke a way of life suspended between devotion and privilege.

The visit continues in the Barone’s Barrel Cellar, one of the most emblematic spaces of the estate. Here, the wood of the barrels and their original layout tell the story of the deep connection with the winemaking tradition that has accompanied the castle for centuries. Just below, on the level once dedicated to storage, lies the ancient snow cellar: a surprising space used to preserve snow and keep food cool, adding a precious chapter to the castle’s productive history.

Outdoors, the Secret Garden and the Ancient Vineyard envelop the property in a green embrace, establishing a direct dialogue with the surrounding agricultural landscape. It is here that the chromatic contrast typical of Abruzzo, a region with a “dual soul”, emerges most clearly: behind rise the Maiella and the Gran Sasso, while ahead the Adriatic opens up, with rolling green hills acting as a natural hinge between mountains and coastline. A rare balance that makes this territory unique, where the green of the hills meets the blue of the sea, and the three-hundred-and-sixty-degree panorama conveys the sensation of inhabiting a place suspended in time.

Gianni’s Cuisine
Gianni’s cuisine follows a clear and well-defined path, grounded in coherence and purity of flavour, flowing with the same natural ease as the landscape surrounding the castle, transforming essential ingredients into a journey that develops with delicacy and restraint.

The wine selection places Masciarelli labels alongside other carefully chosen bottles, with pairings designed to build a journey of sensations rather than a simple sequence of courses, all set within the evocative space of the olive mill. An experience unfolding over two evenings, conceived as a multi-voiced narrative in which cuisine, wine, and territory intertwine with natural ease.

The opening is soft and savoury, shaped by a balance between sweetness and momentum, lightened by the crisp freshness of a Chardonnay-based sparkling wine, capable of bringing precision and drive without ever asserting itself.
Gradually, the nuances become more clearly defined, finding a point of harmony in the linear structure of Trebbiano, which accompanies contrasts with restraint and continuity.

The journey then follows a maritime thread, interpreted through two complementary registers: on one side, the citrus-driven, vibrant tension of Pecorino; on the other, the more enveloping softness of Chardonnay, two distinct yet coherent expressions of the same delicacy.
The tones intensify in a more rhythmic phase, carried by the youthful energy of Montepulciano, followed by a rounder, more relaxed passage, where the gentle aromatic profile of Malvasia introduces a more contemplative dimension.

The finale unfolds as a crescendo of sensations: hints of hazelnut, cocoa, and salt crystals emerge in a sweet, luminous note, supported by a glass of Tokaji, while the final harmony is entrusted to a great classic. The closing selection finds its fulfilment in a glass of Champagne, sealing the experience with elegance, in perfect Champagne Chez Moi style.

It is a cuisine of harmony: an essential gesture that brings together technique and sensitivity, allowing the ingredients and the land that gives birth to them to set the rhythm of the table. Dishes and grape varieties intertwine in a narrative of place, where each pairing broadens and completes the tasting experience, blending atmospheres of another era with a contemporary sensibility.

The Masciarelli winery was founded in the early 1980s from the vision of Gianni Masciarelli, who believed in the potential of Abruzzo at a time when the region had yet to be recognised as a benchmark within the Italian wine scene. His passion that of an innovative, determined figure and a true student of wine left an indelible mark not only on the history of Abruzzo’s enology, but also on the revival of Castello di Semivicoli, now one of the emblematic destinations of high-quality wine tourism in Abruzzo.

A project that stands as a true act of love for the territory, carried forward by the family with the same dedication and an unwavering focus on quality.

“A god has granted me these moments of leisure”, wrote Virgil in the Georgics, celebrating that precious time devoted to contemplation and quiet. It is a sensation that can be felt here in every detail: walking through these rooms, where history intertwines with the landscape, everything invites one to slow down, to observe, to breathe.

This is Castello di Semivicoli, a place of hospitality and culture, where time seems to stand still and Abruzzo reveals one of its most authentic expressions.

🔗 Discover more about Castello di Semivicoli and Masciarelli wines:
 🌐 www.castellodisemivicoli.com

🌐 www.masciarelli.it/vini/castello-di-semivicoli

Tags: CastellodiSemivicoli, ViniMasciarelli