he origins of Albana di Romagna are so ancient that it is no longer easy to distinguish between history and legend. It is reported that in 435 Galla Placida, the beautiful daughter of the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II, arrived early one morning in a small village in the Romagna riding a white donkey. The princess's beauty astonished the inhabitants of the place, who, as soon as they saw her, offered her a large terracotta jug of the area's sweet and excellent wine, the Albana.Galla Placida was so taken by the wine that she remarked, "You should not drink this wine in such an humble container. Rather it should be drunk in gold (berti in oro) to render homage to its smoothness."
Since then, the village has been called Bertinoro. And, at the court of Ravenna, Albana was thereafter drunk exclusively in precious goblets. Bertinoro is today an important center for the production of Albana.
There is also a report that the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who was a guest of Countess Frangipane at Bertinoro, was another great admirer of the wine.
Setting aside legend, the first historical account concerning Albana di Romagna is contained in the celebrated treatise on agriculture written by Pier de' Crescenzi of Bologna in the 13th century. The treatise contains in fact the first description of the wine and of its production area: "a potent wine with a noble flavor that is quite drinkable and moderately subtle...the best of this type of grape can be had at Forli' and throughout the Romagna."
