You’ll find evidence of the shared history of the United States and Tuscany in every corner of Florence, even in your neighborhood gelato shop. Wine too is a thread that has connected our two countries since even before the establishment of the Consulate in Florence in 1819.
Naturally, it all goes back to Thomas Jefferson and Filippo Mazzei. Mazzei went to Virginia in 1773, bringing with him some cuttings from Tuscany. Jefferson granted Mazzei 80 hectares, upon which he built a home called Colle, adjacent to Jefferson’s Monticello estate.