Tag: Villa

Villa Margherita and (beautiful) Romagna far from the sea – Italian Cuisine

An oasis of taste and elegance far from the chaos of the Riviera. For an experience of Romagna that is not a simple holiday but a total immersion in its landscape, its history, culture and flavor. And the raw material is certainly not lacking

Rimini is just over twenty kilometers away, but it really looks like another planet. Forget the Romagna of the beaches and crowds in the disco: clinging here between hills in the province of Forlì-Cesena, where the great Marco Pantani he loved pedaling before each race, there is a whole different atmosphere.

Longiano it is an ancient, placid village. Surrounded by trees and orchards – which in this period color the landscape with a beautiful foliage -, he's called balcony of Romagna because on the clearest days the horizon reaches the sea. It is a medieval village, made of cobblestones, steep streets and brick houses, and on its main street there are shops of typical and artisan products.

Rocca Malatesta

Its main attraction is Rocca Malatesta, a castle that belonged to one of the most important families of the Middle Ages, which dominated the territories of Rimini and Romagna from 1295 to 1500. "Cesena was" jealous "of the power of Rimini and for this cyclically destroyed the castle, which Rimini rebuilt more beautiful than before: that's why over the years it has become a jewel ”, says the local historian Giorgio Magnani. But in addition to its beautiful rooms, Rocca Malatesta is also worth a visit for the Tito Balestra Foundation, an interesting collection of modern and contemporary works of art, including some drawings by Goya, Matisse and Chagall, kept inside.

Villa Margherita

A few kilometers from the center, then, in the hamlet of Montilgallo, another place aspires to become the testimonial of these places still too little known: it is Villa Margherita, an ancient rural residence of 1500 surrounded by greenery, which on November 7 stops being a private residence and opens its gate to the public. Entirely renovated thanks to the interventions of archiculture of the young architects and designers of the Laprim Basta studio, Villa Margherita has been transformed into a relais with 6 super-technological but extremely welcoming bedrooms (including a suite with spa inside), a large infinity pool, an agricultural and botanical park with centenary trees and the restaurant the Elder which, directed by Giuseppe Ricchebuono, starred chef at the Vescovado di Noli, Liguria, promises to become a pole of attraction gourmet on the territory.

Under the motto of elegant, excellent, exclusive, but at the same time inclusive, refined but not luxurious, the Villa aims to draw a tourism certainly elite on the territory (the slow and sustainable one on which so much is aimed in the post Covid), but also to dialogue directly with it. And so its large agricultural park will host events managed by the Petrella theater in Longiano, exhibitions organized by the Tito Balestra Foundation, playful activities for the elderly and children.

Despite the period of uncertainty, the restaurant will also be operational immediately: it will regularly cover the lunch service, while dinner will be exclusively for the guests of the structure, guaranteeing distancing and compliance with anti-Covid regulations. After all, the same structure of the villa and the wide spaces guarantee a natural distance, in contact with nature.

"It is in times of crisis that we must invest", he recalls Luca Panzavolta, The CEO of Cia, a cooperative company headed by Conad and which with this project aims to combine enhancement of the territory with haute cuisine and rediscovery of local products. Just try one of the tasting menus to realize it: smoked trout from the Apennines, tortello di Mora Romagnola (native pig breed), cheek of Vacca Romagnola and an entire cellar of wines available (whose premises have remained intact as in 1500) .

An oasis of taste and elegance ideal for a romantic weekend, but also for ceremonies, special lunches and dinners, corporate events. Far and yet at the same time close to the sea and the coast. For a experience of Romagna that is not just a simple vacation, but a total immersion in the landscape, history, culture and flavor. And the raw material, as we have seen, is certainly not lacking.

the case of Villa Montepaldi – Italian Cuisine

Among the Chianti hills, Villa Montepaldi is the only university farm in Italy run by a commercial company

Villa Montepaldi, a farm owned by the University of Florence. Here, a San Casciano Val di Pesa, peasant knowledge becomes university culture, while the didactic research and experimentation activities meet the reality of a production unit. In the background, the beauty of a landscape which is imbued with this culture, designed as it is by the work of man who for centuries has arranged rows and planted olive groves; and the passage of time is told by the walls of a Villa where Lorenzo de 'Medici already produced "vermilion and evil" wines.

Villa Montepaldi: a unique model in Italy

Villa Montepaldi is a truly unique case in our country. «It's about a commercial activity carried out by a company owned by the University – he explains Simone Toccafondi, sole director of Villa Montepaldi – is a SRL, wholly owned by the public body, and as such must carry on a commercial activity, aiming, if not for dividends to be assigned to the Member, at least to achieve an economic and financial balance. On the other hand, the University, which has a specific interest in maintaining participation, since the company is used to support teaching and research activities conducted by the same University ". It is thus outlined a dual soul which always has quality as its ultimate goal. Wine and oil they are present on the national market, distribution is expanding internationally and looks at large-scale retail trade. And from next year you can also return to buy pasta, produced from ancient grain flours grown on the farm.

A lesson on the field

Students are present for courses and seminars. "In particular, agricultural students have the opportunity to see how work in an olive grove or vineyard works, to follow the procedures in the cellar, but they do not participate in the production process. – says Toccafondi – There are also possibilities for curricular internships, exercises and activities for the theses working on the wine, olive and landscape sectors. They are students of agrarian, but the interest of students and teachers can potentially extend to many other scientific disciplinary sectors, such as biology, engineering and architecture. But not only: here there is room for history, even for archeology, with the next opening of a new archaeological site ".

Research: the future has its roots in the past

A fundamental role, as is logical, is played by research. Among the first projects, the project MANY, acronym for Montepaldi Long Term Experiments, started in the 90s. «It was one of the first comparative experiments in the field biological, a comparative study conducted on arable land, aimed at comparing the performance of three different agricultural systems: conventional, integrated and organic. The results have been positive for the organic sector, and since 2017 almost the entire company is in organic conversion, with the only exception of the wine sector ".

The research activity does not stop there, and it is always Toccafondi to explain how many studies have been carried out over the years. Particularly interesting is the one conducted on autochthonous yeasts, in collaboration with the academic spin-off FoodMicroTeam S.r.l. «We want to isolate the yeasts in our cellar. Once identified, we select them and we will use them in the 2020 vintage. Ours is a historic company, we speak of nine centuries of history: a large part of the cellar is part of the Medici villa. In a case like this, the use of indigenous yeasts means a search for quality, a desire to create a taste that is representative of not only a territorial identity, but even a corporate one, in opposition to the predominant use of industrial yeasts. There is more: this research carries out a natural approach, respectful of something that has been present in our company for centuries ". An approach that also looks at health: "today the link between health and nutrition opens an ever wider field of investigation, which leads to the possible interaction of the company also with researchers in the medical area".

Products, quality as responsibility

But teaching and research are not enough. The company offers good products on the market: wine and oil, as in the best Tuscan tradition. The DOCG Chianti Classico finds its maximum expression in the Grand Selection, produced exclusively in the best vintages and from the best grapes of the company. But also the other wines of the company carry on the philosophy of quality: «Being part of the university, beyond the institutional purposes, also means being aware of the responsibility we have: transferring the highest scientific knowledge into the production processes to guarantee both environmental protection in the production phase and creation of high quality products that contribute to preserving the health of the final consumer ". An awareness that must be translated into aiming for excellence.

A gourmet palace: the Cerea family at the Royal Villa of Monza – Italian Cuisine

From 10 December a new gastronomic offer at the Monza Royal Palace will be managed by the two brands owned by the Cerea family: Da Vittorio and Vicook

The splendor of the eighteenth-century rooms, the perfection of Piermarini's architecture, around the magnificent park, within the alternation of exhibitions and cultural events. And the starry kitchen of the Cerea. There Villa Reale Monza will be transformed into a center of gastronomic as well as cultural excellence: it will start on 10 December and the new catering project signed by the Cerea family will continue for the next two years, which will be entrusted with the "direction" of the Villa Reale restaurant service. The announcement was made during the presentation of the new exhibition dedicated to From there, to emphasize the combination of art, culture and gastronomy. The imprint arrives directly from the "Da Vittorio" restaurant in Brusaporto, with its three Michelin stars: "it is for us a source of great pride to be able to place our name alongside a prestigious reality like that of Villa Reale in Monza, underlined by Cerea – and to contribute with our catering experience to increase its success ".

In concrete terms, the offer will be divided into two different proposals, managed by the two brands owned by the family: Da Vittorio for the part relating to events e Vicook for the one related to the bistro. "Vicook bistro Villa Reale" will be a versatile space, capable of accommodating up to 200 people: connection between the Courtyard and the Park, includes restaurant, bistro and cafeteria; here the chef Corrado Leoni, under the supervision of the Cerea family, will reformulate the menus and update the service style.

The noble floor, first floor and Belvedere offer is different, where the Royal Dalì exhibition has just been inaugurated and will continue until 2021: these spaces will continue to host events of national and international prestige, under the aegis of Da Vittorio.