The history of the agricultural company is naturally linked to that of the Leopardi counts, a
family with ancient origins. According to tradition, they arrived in Italy from Byzantium with
the Teutonic knights in the mid-4th century AD, first settling in Sicily and then in Rome. One
family member, Leopardo de’ Leopardi, was sent by Pope Innocent I and appointed the first
bishop of Auximum, now Osimo, an ancient town of Picene origin where pagan rites were
prevalent. The bishop succeeded in converting the population but paid for his success with
martyrdom in 405 AD.