The Past
Incocco Early 1900’s
Incocco’s Farming History 1936 – 1993
Incocco When we found Her 2002
Incocco Renovation 2002 – 2008
History of the Property
The following history is mostly anecdotal but in the future we intend to more fully explore the exact history of these buildings and the story of Don Falcone to better understand the story of Incocco.
It is unsure when the first structure was built at Incocco but there are old written and anecdotal references to the Region of Cocco dating back to the 1600’s. There is a supposition that what is today the large barn was in actuality the first structure, likely a modest rural building providing home to both people and animals.
The estimated construction date for the present house is late 1700/early 1800 and it probably held two families with the centre of the building sheltering animals and crop storage above. This has been surmised,since during renovation, all the plaster was removed from the house interior and doorways, fireplaces, hay chutes, and many other clues to the origins of each room were discovered.
The priest who purchased Incocco in the late 1800’s radically renovated most of the house into a luxurious dwelling by standards of that era. He used a multitude of carved stone, hand made terra cotta tiles; created a magnificent stone stairway and hand worked wrought iron railing with even a snake entwining up it; opened new windows, added indoor bathrooms and was even among the first in the area to have both electricity and telephone!!!
A 1905 postcard was published showing his residence and church in all its glory with guests outside in elegant period clothing, a copy of which can be seen on our homepage.
Once the courtyard held a frescoed “cappella” dedicated to the Falcone family, but now only photographs remain. Both courtyard entrances were through sweeping archways to which the still present grapevine had been trained to grow providing respite from the summer sun, but these and other special features created by the priest have unfortunately been lost over the decades along with his household possessions and the ornamentation of the church itself.
Examining the pictures here you will see some traces of these long gone architectural features. However, many objects have remained which testify to the subsequent agricultural period.
Upon the passing of Don Falcone, Incocco underwent several changes of hands and many ideas were discussed for her future; one was from a local medical family who had envisioned her as a private health clinic. However, none of these projects came to realisation and in 1936 the property was one of several purchased by a local farming family to establish each of their sons independantly.
So this young family began to farm the land and their 3 children were born in the house, decades of work and a world war brought many hardships as well as rewards to them. It was a “self sufficient” farm as we say today, with Incocco’s land providing wood for burning, fruit, gardens, and crops while growing chickens, turkeys, pigs, working oxen and cattle.
A large sunny hillside was planted with grapevines and Incocco spent a prosperous era making her own wines. The old barrels and gigantic stone wine press are still visible here. The war brought partisans and Germans alike demanding food and there are many local tales of events at Incocco during that era, one man told us an Incocco chimney provided the hiding place that saved his life from an enemy inquisition!!!
Pictures of the Incocco farming era, all planted and harvested by oxen or hand are above to see.
