Panzalla Castle has remote origins dating back to ancient Rome. A Roman centurion, Pantius, received many hectares of land for his retirement and built his “Aula” (house) on a hill. In Latin, Pantius’ house was known as “the Pantius-Aula” (the house of Pantius). With the centuries, Pantius-Aula’s name was altered to become “Panzalla”, the current name of the castle.

During the Middle Ages, the property came into the possession of the Buondelmonti family, and the house was transformed into one of the many family castles. The oldest remaining part of the building was constructed in this period and still stands today.

In the course of the centuries, the castle history has been intertwined with that of the “Florentine Republic”, then with the “Tuscan Grand-Duchy”, and finally, with the “Kingdom of Italy”. Most recently, the castle was owned by the counts, Miari Pelli Fabbroni, who gave the house the name “Villa Fabbroni”. The Fabbroni family renovated the villa in nineteenth century style and made it their hunting cottage. When Florence was the capital of Italy, King Vittorio Emanuele II was a guest at the villa. The land surrounding the castle was rich with game and fruitful vineyards, which produced a wine very similar to “Bordeaux”.