Chiarentana: How One Tuscan Estate Shaped Val d’Orcia

Summary

Donata Origo has man­aged Chiarentana, an organic estate in Tuscany’s Val d’Orcia, with a focus on excel­lence and com­mu­nity well-being since the 1980s. The estate pro­duces acclaimed olive oils, offers agri­tourism, and has a deep-rooted his­tory of pro­vid­ing refuge and sup­port to those in need, embody­ing the human­i­tar­ian spirit of its founders.

A time­less har­mony between human pres­ence and the nat­ural land­scape earned Tuscany’s Val d’Orcia its place as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in the province of Siena, this one-of-a-kind rural land­scape is defined by its sig­na­ture cypress-lined roads, stone farm­houses, and care­fully cul­ti­vated fields unfold­ing across gen­tle hills.

At the heart of Val d’Orcia lies Chiarentana, an organic estate that Donata Origo has guided since the 1980s with a stead­fast com­mit­ment to excel­lence and the well-being of her guests and local com­mu­nity.

Chiarentana and Confini blends, along with the Maurino mono­va­ri­etal, each received a Gold Award at the 2025 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition.

Today, the prop­erty pro­duces acclaimed olive oils and offers a refined agri­tourism immersed in tran­quil­ity. Its jour­ney, how­ever, extends far beyond hos­pi­tal­ity — reveal­ing deep roots in the mak­ing of mod­ern Val d’Orcia.

“This estate was part of the vast farm run by my par­ents, Iris and Antonio, who arrived from Florence in the Valley of the Orcia River in the early 1920s, when this area was still unknown to the world,” Origo told Olive Oil Times.

Born Iris Margaret Cutting, Iris Origo was an Anglo-Irish writer whose lit­er­ary work earned her a place among the lead­ing chron­i­clers of 20^th-cen­tury Italy. After meet­ing Italian noble­man Antonio Origo in Florence, the cou­ple mar­ried in 1924 and soon set­tled at La Foce, a 3,000-hectare (7,413-acre) estate in a state of neglect near Chianciano Terme.

“Back then, this ter­ri­tory was plagued by arid­ity and poverty,” Origo said. ​“My par­ents under­took a major recla­ma­tion project and devoted their lives to improv­ing con­di­tions for the 58 share­crop­ping fam­i­lies who lived there.”

They built nearly fifty new farm­houses, along with schools, a hos­pi­tal, a store, and a work­ers’ recre­ation cen­ter — trans­form­ing the once-bar­ren val­ley into a thriv­ing land­scape.

“The inter­ven­tions they car­ried out form the foun­da­tion of what Val d’Orcia is today,” Origo empha­sized.

One of those farm­steads was Chiarentana, recalled in Iris Origo’s mem­oirWar in Val d’Orcia . The book inter­twines his­tor­i­cal depth and per­sonal wit­ness, recount­ing how the Origos shel­tered dozens of evac­u­ated chil­dren and dis­placed peo­ple dur­ing 1943 – 44 — civil­ians, sol­diers, and par­ti­sans resist­ing the Nazi-Fascist regime — all find­ing refuge on their estate.

In what The New York Times called ​“a remark­ably mov­ing doc­u­ment,” the courage and com­pas­sion of the Origos tran­scend ide­ol­ogy and remain strik­ingly rel­e­vant today.

After their par­ents’ pass­ing in the late 1970s, Donata and her sis­ter Benedetta inher­ited the estate. ​“My sis­ter devoted her­self to La Foce, while I took charge of Chiarentana,” Origo said.

“Alongside run­ning the farm, I later became involved in some­thing com­pletely dif­fer­ent,” she added. ​“From 1990 to 2000, I chaired the Arché asso­ci­a­tion in Rome, which pro­vided psy­choso­cial sup­port to HIV-pos­i­tive chil­dren and their fam­i­lies.”

“At that time, hos­pi­tals focused on med­ical treat­ment, while psy­cho­log­i­cal and social needs were largely over­looked,” she explained. ​“These chil­dren were often mar­gin­al­ized and faced extremely dif­fi­cult cir­cum­stances. Our work was demand­ing but sus­tained by the ded­i­ca­tion of many vol­un­teers.”

Throughout the 1990s, Origo wel­comed fam­i­lies to Chiarentana each sum­mer. ​“After home care in Rome, I hosted them here so they could rest and enjoy a real vaca­tion,” she recalled. ​“Once life-sav­ing med­i­cines became avail­able, I chose to con­tinue my work in Africa.”

From 2000 to 2004, she expanded her efforts through a project in Zimbabwe. She later worked as a con­sul­tant for the World Health Organization in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Kenya, train­ing nurses and social work­ers.

“My mother always cared deeply for chil­dren. After los­ing a son to menin­gi­tis at eight years old, that devo­tion grew even stronger,” Origo added. ​“During the war, she opened her farm to dis­placed chil­dren, offer­ing safety and pro­tec­tion. That spirit of care is the legacy she passed on to me.”

Over the past two decades, Origo has devoted her­self to Chiarentana, man­ag­ing a 550-hectare (1,360-acre) farm, includ­ing 10 hectares of olive groves with 2,800 trees sur­round­ing the farm­house.

“The olive groves retain a tra­di­tional plant­ing lay­out. In the 1980s, I replanted many trees, focus­ing on Tuscan vari­eties such as Frantoio, Leccino, Moraiolo, Pendolino, and Maurino, which we use for our Chiarentana blend,” Origo said. ​“We also grow some Umbrian vari­eties for our Confini blend and craft Cavalli, a Moraiolo-dom­i­nant blend, along with mono­va­ri­etals like our Maurino, depend­ing on the har­vest.”

Olives are pressed at a state-of-the-art mill in Cetona to ensure the high­est qual­ity of extrac­tion.

“In recent years, we have faced grow­ing chal­lenges,” Origo noted. ​“Climate change has brought extreme weather and increased pests like the olive fruit fly. Yet we remain com­mit­ted to qual­ity and sus­tain­abil­ity, to pro­tect the health and beauty of this land­scape.”

Chiarentana offers accom­mo­da­tions in farm­houses and apart­ments, and its restau­rant wel­comes guests by request. Visitors can also join guided tast­ings and pair­ing lunches.

“When tast­ing our oils and pair­ing them with food, guests are truly fas­ci­nated,” Origo said. ​“For many, it’s their first encounter with olive oil, and we’re delighted to guide them through the expe­ri­ence — explain­ing how to rec­og­nize a qual­ity extra vir­gin olive oil and shar­ing the story behind our farm.”

“Spreading olive oil cul­ture and telling our story allow us to cel­e­brate and safe­guard Val d’Orcia’s unique her­itage,” she added. ​“We uphold the human­i­tar­ian spirit that inspired my par­ents, see­ing qual­ity not as an end but as a respon­si­bil­ity — to the land, its peo­ple, and the val­ues that endure here.”