Golf and Wine Architecture in Italy
Renzo Piano, Mario Botta, Archea, Tscholl, Thun and Pomodoro: the author-designed wineries and spas of Italy, and the golf courses that sit beside them.
A handful of Italy’s wineries and thermal resorts carry a named architect or artist behind the building itself, not just the label or the water. Several sit inside the golf itineraries this site tracks, close enough to fold into the same day as a round. This page collects them.
Renzo Piano at Rocca di Frassinello
Rocca di Frassinello, founded in 2004 in the Gavorrano hills on the Maremma itinerary, is one of the few wineries in the world designed by Renzo Piano: a contemporary cathedral in the Maremma hills, blending Italian and French varieties. It sits 10 km from Il Pelagone golf course.
Mario Botta at Petra
Mario Botta designed Petra, in Suvereto on the Etruscan Coast itinerary, about 15 km from Riva Toscana golf course.
Archea Associati at Antinori nel Chianti Classico
Archea Associati designed Antinori nel Chianti Classico, in Bargino on the Chianti & Florence itinerary, 13 km from Golf dell’Ugolino golf course.
Werner Tscholl and Matteo Thun, one itinerary apart
The South Tyrol & Merano itinerary carries two author buildings of its own, about 35 km apart. Werner Tscholl wrapped Kellerei Cantina Tramin, in Termeno, in a glass cube, 11 km from Golfplatz Petersberg - Golf Club Petersberg. Matteo Thun designed Terme Merano, the town’s thermal landmark, about 10 km from Hotel Quellenhof Short Course golf course.
Arnaldo Pomodoro’s Carapace at Tenuta Castelbuono
In Montefalco, on the Umbria & Lake Trasimeno itinerary, Arnaldo Pomodoro designed the cellar building at Tenuta Castelbuono himself and called it the Carapace. It sits 24 km from Golf Club Perugia golf course.
Distinctive design, no single name attached
A few more addresses on this site are known for their building as much as for what they pour, without one architect’s name on file. Ca’ del Bosco, in Erbusco on the Franciacorta & Bergamo itinerary, doubles as a contemporary art collection alongside the cellars, about 5 km from Golf Club Franciacorta golf course. Le Mortelle, Antinori’s estate on the Maremma coast and part of the same Maremma itinerary as Rocca di Frassinello, is built as a gravity winery across three levels set into the hill, 2 km from Golf La Badiola golf course. Badia a Passignano, also on the Chianti & Florence itinerary, keeps its cellars beneath an 11th-century Vallombrosan abbey, the oldest building on this page.
Related reading
For the season each of these itineraries plays best, see when to go. For how every distance on this page is calculated, see the methodology.