Cerridwen Farm
Sep 3, 2018 · 7 min read

Brunnenburg Castle in the Alps:

The Intersection of Art, Science, and Sustainable Farming

Brunnenburg Castle in the South Tyrol

In Italy’s South Tyrol, a historic castle in the heart of the Alps oversees the town of Merano. This is Brunnenburg Castle, built in 1250, which became one of the last refuges for the great American poet Ezra Pound. His daughter Mary and her husband, Prince Boris de Rachewitz, restored the castle in the mid-20th century. Today the castle is a mecca for Pound researchers as well as tourists, scholars and local residents interested in literature, ethnology, and sustainable farming.

Like our class from Green Mountain College, generations of travelers and college students have traveled to this dreamily beautiful castle to research Pound’s legacy as well as sustainable agriculture. Pound’s daughter, the poet, author, and translator Mary de Rachewiltz, just celebrated her 93rd birthday in the castle; until recently, she taught classes here on Pound’s Cantos to visiting students and has written a brilliant book, Ezra Pound: Father and Teacher/Discretions, that traces her relationship with Pound and the life-loving Tyrolean culture.

Pound’s grandson, Sizzo, is a scholar who as a young man worried the rich farming traditions of the valley were vanishing without a trace — even soundscapes such as the ring of scythes being sharpened in the fields were disappearing. He found farmers throughout different valleys anxious to donate their old tools and machines to him for safekeeping and created the Brunnenburg Agricultural Museum in the castle, which is open to the public six days a week. Now retired as museum director of “Castle Tirol” just up the hill, he is busy hosting scientific conferences and festivals at Brunnenburg on everything from cello music to the cultural history of potatoes.

But it takes a village to run a modern-day castle, with its steep taxes and costs, and the younger de Rachewiltzes have thrown themselves in with gusto. Mary’s grandson, Michael (Michi), while earning a PhD in philosophy, works as a mountain rescue volunteer and trail guide for visitors; the youngest grandson, Nik, is in charge of the castle’s organic sprawling farm, which includes a vineyard, vegetable and fruit crops, and heritage breed sheep and goats, along with ducks, chickens, two ill-tempered geese and several turkeys. In a given week he may be working in the garden, tending to the grapevines, preparing an elaborate five-course dinner for visiting students or a wedding, or making wine, pear juice, schnapps and jam from the castle’s organic grapes and pears.

The brothers are assisted by a tiny crew of volunteers from the United States and Europe, some of whom have returned for several summers to learn and help out in exchange for room and board. One of them recently played a jazz solo on his sax during a group dinner, while a turkey on the roof gobbled appreciatively.

As students at Green Mountain’s program on sustainable food systems, we had the privilege of enjoying Brunnenburg’s gracious hospitality for two weeks. We cannot thank everyone enough for their kindness. As for the castle’s delights, this short photo essay can only scratch the surface. We hope it will tempt you to visit.

Diana Hembree, with
Kate Christian
Gabriel Gardner
Elliott Johnson
Sharon Palmer
Kristin Papp
Sherri Pinero
Keeley Titus

“A real building is one on which the eye can light and stay lit.” — Ezra Pound

There can be no denying, Brunnenburg Castle is indeed a real building. There is no shortage of delight and wonder than can be found at this magnificent site.

You’ll be met by an ornate iron gate that welcomes guests at the end of the driveway as the entrance to Brunnenburg Castle.

Creeping vines adorn this historic facade, inviting the curious to continue their explorations.

Just under the castle lies Brunnenburg’s two-and-a-half acre vineyard, which contains many different types of grapevines, including the red Cabernet Canto pictured above. These lush vines, like all the crops here, are grown organically.

“out of all this beauty something must come” (Canto 84)

Inside the castle is an entire floor devoted to the poet Ezra Pound, who wrote his last six Cantos here. Thanks to his daughter, Mary de Rachewiltz — a well-known poet, author, and translator who restored the castle with her husband Boris in the 1950s — there is a permanent home for Pound scholarship at Brunnenburg.

A welcoming host, beautiful presentation and local ingredients are the hallmarks of a farm-to-table dinner at Brunnenburg Castle.

Almost everything at the table comes from Brunnenburg’s organic farm, which bucks the typical apple orchard monoculture in South Tyrol with its diverse crops and livestock. Think 30 types of potatoes, pear and fig trees, heritage sheep and goats, and organic grapes that convert to rich, dark wine.

“To have gathered from the air a live tradition” — Canto 81

The chef is Brunnenburg farmer Nik de Rachewiltz, a great-grandson of Ezra Pound. He is preparing a five-course farm-to-table dinner for a group of students from Green Mountain College.

The schnapps served at dinner is from the beautiful pears that grow in the forefront of Brunnenburg Castle. Pears enjoy the sunny climate in South Tyrol and are cultivated for use in breads, desserts, and liqueurs, such as Williams — a form of local schnapps produced on the farm.

The next day, walking up the castle path, visitors are confronted by overflowing pots of potatoes. Like most things at Brunnenburg, the potato is more than it seems — as visitors will realize soon after visiting the castle’s masterfully curated potato history exhibit.

Green Mountain students learn some vineyard secrets from Nik, who explains he uses disease- and fungus-resistant grapevines that help produce grapes and wine without using pesticides.

He also introduced us to the farm’s ducks, geese, chickens, and heritage goats and sheep, which were extremely hardy but so skittish they would race away if you even looked at them.

Meanwhile, inside the castle. Nik’s father prepared a talk on the way potatoes have shaped Tyrolean and even world history. A scholar and former museum director at “Castle Tirol,” Seigfried de Rachewiltz oversees the castle’s agricultural museum and folk art collection.

If Mother Goose had a vineyard, it would resemble this view from Brunnenburg.

During our “Farm-to-Table” dinner, this turkey serenaded the group to a saxophone backdrop while sitting on the roof.

But outdoor dinners, farming, seminars, research and museum tours are just some of Brunnenburg’s activities. Shortly before we arrived at Brunnenburg for the first time, these students (below) performed at a cello festival hosted by Brunnenburg.

And there was always more to discover. At Brunnenburg Castle’s tower (above), a narrow walkway path along the side of the castle leads you to a surprise of beautiful stained glass windows and masonry.

It was hard to say goodbye to this extraordinary place. If some of us are profoundly lucky, we’ll be back one day.

Photo and caption credits

Kate Christian/ images 2, 4, 5, 13
Diana Hembree/images 7 -9
Sharon Palmer/images 10–14
Kristin Papp/images 16, 17, and 18
Sherri Pinero/ images 3, 6, 20
Brunnenburg facebook/image 19
Opening images and Bolzano market: Shutterstock

Acknowledgments: Our profound thanks and gratitude to the family and staff of Brunnenburg Castle, who made our stay there so extraordinary: Miche, Nik, Mary, Sizzo, Toby, and summer volunteers, as well as the indefatigable Robert Delsai and artist Sophie Krier. Also our deep thanks to the residents of Mals and the South Tyrol. and a special shout-out for our tireless study leaders, GMC professors Philip Ackerman Leist and John van Housen.

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