Giuseppe Fraccaroli, Last Vatican Lugana Grower, Passes Away at 64
Giuseppe Fraccaroli cultivated the vineyards of Campo Serà for over 50 years, producing a Lugana that is served daily on the tables of the Vatican. The trust-based and commercial relationship began when Albino Luciani was still Patriarch of Venice and was strengthened during Karol Wojtyla‘s pontificate. The professional legacy, which was also carried on by his brother Francesco, now passes to his three children.
The funeral will be held tomorrow at 3 pm at the Beato Andrea parish church. After a long and relentless illness, at the age of 64, Giuseppe Fraccaroli, known as the last “Vine Grower of the Pope,” died last night.
Giuseppe Fraccaroli’s Life and Legacy
He was, in fact, the last Fraccaroli remaining alive, the one who, for half a century, cultivated the Lugana vineyards of Campo Serà, so dear to Karol Wojtyla, the Polish Pope.
For years now, the Pope’s successor has enjoyed a daily glass of Lugana DOC white wine produced by the farm of the Fraccaroli brothers, who also supply Vatican with wine for the Mass.
And Bepi has always been the one in the family dedicated to the care and cultivation of the vines. The work of viticulture in Lugana, between Lake Frassino and the Risorgimental Tower of San Martino della Battaglia, where the large Fraccaroli farm is located in Berra Vecchia, was started by Francesco Fraccaroli, Giuseppe’s grandfather.
Once, the farm with its fields was owned by the Veronese curia. The Fraccaroli family, headed by Giuseppe’s grandfather Francesco, took possession of the property in the 1800s, and even then, they produced excellent white wine.
Some vines are indeed centuries old, even three hundred years. The one who had the foresight to market the excellent Lugana di Berra Vecchia was Giuseppe’s brother, Francesco, the commendatore, who died in 1990. He met the Pope more than a dozen times and was visited by several cardinals.
It was Francesco himself who established the first contacts with the Vatican, even bringing Lugana to Poland during the Pope’s first trip to his homeland. This marked the beginning of great success for the Fraccaroli family.
Giuseppe, a gentle and generous man, always devoted himself to the care of his vines, often staying in the background with his humble and steady work on the farm. His experience, his professional legacy, was passed down to his son Luciano, who, like his father, humbly dedicates himself today to the countryside and winemaking.
To his son Luigi, instead, went the commercial legacy of Uncle Francesco: in recent years, thanks to Luigi’s efforts, Lugana DOC has reached the tables of the British Royal Family and continues to expand its list of admirers.
The productive spirit of the farmer and winemaker Bepi Fraccaroli has not been lost with his death, as it continues through the simple agricultural and viticultural activities of his children Luigi and Luciano, supported by the gentle feminine touch of his sister Mimma, who manages the contact with clients from all over Italy.
The funeral service will take place tomorrow at 3 pm at the Beato Andrea parish church in Peschiera.
