Today's Travaglino winery is the result of centuries of enthusiasm. The wine-making evolution is accompanied by a patient, meticulous dedication that has enabled the Calvignano estate to fully embody the true expression of the Oltrepò Pavese. The Oltrepò Pavese is an area of the Province of Pavia covering almost 100,000 hectares - divided into plains, hills and mountains - with a population of around 150,000 inhabitants. Its name comes from the fact that it is south of the River Po, in the heart of the northern Appenine region. The Oltrepò Pavese was officially established in 1164, when the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick I, known as Barbarossa, granted the city of Pavia the right to appoint consuls in the areas that roughly form what is now the Province. Before this act, the Oltrepò Pavese did not exist as a political or administrative unit. During the Roman era, the only two centres of the territory that were "acknowledged" were Iria (Voghera) and Clastidium (Casteggio), but at the end of the 5th century, with the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Oltrepò - which had already been colonised by Gallic and Ligurian peoples in the first millennium BC - was again invaded by, amongst others, the Huns of Attila, who destroyed Iria. In the Middle Ages, control passed through the hands of many famous noble and clerical families (from the Malaspina to the Dal Verme, from the Beccaria to the Visconti and the Sforza), who left traces of their ancient power in the towers, castles, churches and beautiful palazzos that can still be admired today in the towns and villages around Pavia. A strategic area that was highly contested over the centuries, it was in turn controlled by the various powers of the time: France, Spain and Austria. The world's third largest "region" for the cultivation of Pinot Nero, and second In Italy in terms of area "given over to wine" (16,200 hectares for specialised cultivation and 1 million hectolitres of product per year), the Oltrepò only became “Pavese” again in 1860, with the Unification of Italy. This aromatic and sun-drenched land, corresponding to the southern part of the Province of Pavia (on the border with Piemonte and Emilia-Romagna), is also known as “Old Piemonte”. In 1743, with the Treaty of Worms, the Oltrepò Pavese was in fact separated from the Duchy of Milan: Empress Maria Teresa of Austria transferred to Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia, the whole "region" which was then removed from the political control of Pavia and came under the dominion of Piedmont, under the sovereignty of the House of Savoy; it became a “province”, with Voghera as the capital. Today the Oltrepò Pavese has 78 municipalities; among these is the village of Calvignano (whose central nucleus is located on the Casteggio – Montalto Pavese B road) plus another 14 small centres and scattered farmhouses. The area is bordered by the Coppa and Rile rivers, and includes a large part of Mount Ceresinoe: described by 19th century visitors as “a small village located in a high point, where you can enjoy good air....and drink good wine”. These features have always made it ideal for grape cultivation: classic Greek and Roman writers like Strabo and Pliny the Elder talk about the wine production in the Oltrepò, mentioned again in 1000 and 1500, and later in papers published in the 1800s. This is the setting for the Travaglino winery of Calvignano, where it was established and continues to grow century after century, its vaulted cellar still housing the traces of the original 1111 building.