he northern slopes of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, between the regional border separating Lombardy from Emilia and the provincial border between Reggio Emilia and Parma, form a relatively homogeneous vitivinicultural area.That area, where the terrains consist primarily of marl, sandstone, yellow sand and clay of the Pliocene, offers two series of Denominazione di Origine Controllata products: the wines of the Colli di Parma and those of the Colli Piacentini.
It can be asserted without fear of contradiction that the vine was already known in the Piacenza area in the period from 2000 to 700 BC, as indicated by fozzilized grape seeds and vine roots found in the district.
Grape-growing and winemaking are much better documented in the Roman period. In a debate in the Senate, Marcus Tullius Cicero criticized his political rival Lucius Calpurnius Piso, a native of Piacenza, for doing excessive honor to the wine of his home province.
Around the end of the 13th century, the wines of the Piacenza area began to establish an outstanding reputation and they were even exported to France. In 1391, severe restrictions were introduced into the ancient statutes of the commune of Piacenza to discourage fraud and assure the genuineness of the wine.
In his description of the wines of Italy of the 16th century, Sante Lancerio, cellarmaster to Pope Paul III praised the wines of Piacenza at considerable length. His tributes were followed by those of Italian experts and literary figures in succeeding centuries. The exports of the area's wines are confirmed by various sources, including the book I Piaceri della Tavola (The Pleasures of the Table), written in 1903 by Alberto Cougnet, and the volume Histoire du Luxe by the French author Brandillard.
