Masseria "Li Monaci", the Winery was constructed in the 1940s and it is apart of a large complex of farm buildings, buyed and restructured in ther first half of the 1990s. Azienda Monaci is the name of the agricultural sector of the holding “Li Monaci”, currently owned by Garofano family. AZIENDA DI FAMIGLIA DELL’ENOLOGO SEVERINO GAROFANO Azienda Monaci is the name of the agricultural sector of the holding “Li Monaci”, situated just outside the town of Copertino in the province of Lecce. Apart from a large complex of farm buildings, surrounded by sixteen hectares of vineyard, it has a modern cellar constructed in the 1940s for the pro- cessing of grapes and the making, ageing and bottling of the wine “Copertino”. HISTORY This agricultural holding (masseria) has a long history according to the testimony of the Byzantine, or at least Greek Orthodox, monks (monaci), who occupied the area around the year 1000. To this day the old structures of the first communities still stand, as well as a small underground church of notable cultural and historical importance as an example of basilican monasticism in the Salento peninsula. The philosophy of life of these hermits involved not only prayer but also work in the fields for the cultivation of certain plants, notably the vine and the olive. The presence of these monks represented an important rallying-point around which shepherds and peasants could bring their families to establi sh the first villages, enjoying a system of mutual defence and utilizing the expertise of the hermits in the areas of wine and oil production. The history of the town of Copertino began with the joining together of various rural communities, in particular those living in the zone “li Monaci”.