Introduction

My name is Piera Viarengo and in 1997 I said "That’s it! I don’t want to work in an office anymore". So I decided to take a step back (or perhaps forwards), to go back to my roots in the country, a world that is part of me, and to start a holiday farm.

... simplicity... a way of life...

This world is made up of the small things which, through their simplicity, express greatness.

Have you ever been woken up at 6 o'clock in the morning by a crowing cockerel to discover that it's pleasant even at that time of the day?

Have you ever strolled down lanes which wind among woods and over hills and stopped under the trees to pick violets, periwinkles and wild primroses? Yes, they do still exist and, as you will see, they are very small and pale yellow, not the bright colours of those sold in the markets.

You won’t find the frenetic entertainment of an organised holiday here, but the peace of a little village and a way of life based on rhythms and priorities very different to those of "modern life".

The silence may be broken by the chirruping of birds or by the cry of a pheasant which is about to fly off only a few steps away from you, or by a tractor going by or a local farmer going to his vineyard or to his kitchen garden to pick the produce that he will have for dinner that evening.

Even if it is hard to believe, each season of the year produces its own fruits. Piedmontese cuisine has learnt to use these gifts of nature, at first out of need and subsequently for pleasure, skillfully creating wonderful, traditional meals.

In the village everything that is not grown on the land or raised in the courtyards can be found in the one shop available. The products here seem to be "better" than the ones presented on the shelves in supermarkets. This shop is also a place of social relationships, where most of the women from the village meet every morning, and not only to do the shopping!