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| Consumer News (L’Informazione di Parma 13/12/05) |
| When one catches a glimpse of extensive and stone brick residence of Ca’ d’alfieri from afar, one wonders how, on that mountain, and between those ancient walls, Maurizio and Luisa managed to realise their dream. Their world is a wonderful agriturismo, with 3600 square metres of greenhouses (in which they grow vegetables in the biological method), woods and fields. Ca’ d’Alfieri is the most beautiful agriturismo in the region of Parma, and in the restoration of the house all the original architectural aspects have been maintained. Indeed when one wanders between the old, low roofed rooms, it feels like a step back into the past. It’s a fantastic weekend getaway. Just a little way past Bardi, an hour’s highway drive from Parma, one can enjoy a warm welcome and above all Luisa’s brilliant cooking – jams, conserves and preserved vegetables produced daily. When I return home I’ll enjoy spiced onions, the eggplant and onions "under-oil", minted zucchini, salsa verde (both spicy and mild varieties), the tomato sauce, the super-spicy "habernero" sauce, the quince jam, strawberry sauce and the medlar jam (a fruit of the rose family). In addition to the shop in Bardi, Maurizio and Luisa also sell their produce at growers markets around the region. SLOWFOOD |
| "Back to basics" via this 19th Century villa (Gazzetta di Parma 01/11/04) |
| It was the house that did it. For Luisa Sgarbossa and Maurizio Bovi, who 9 years ago lived a city life as far away as possible from agriculture, this 19th century villa not far from Bardi was too good to pass up. She a nurse by trade, and he a computer expert, this pair where just looking for a spot to spend their holidays. They discovered Bardi flicking through a magazine, but as soon as they saw the house themselves were immediately convinced. "After a lot of searching we had finally found a place that maintained the original features" Luisa explains "a well, a wood oven, stone floors and all the chimneys intact. Of course things had to be changed a bit". The holiday house soon became their permanent home, as well as the base for Luisa and Maurizio’s new venture into farming. "We opted for a new life, far from the city, meanwhile deciding to survive on what was available locally." they explain. In 2000 Luisa moved in and began the farm and food products side of things, while a faithful restoration of the villa took place. Maurizio lived periodically between the villa in the Apennine ranges and a city life where he continued his work. It took only a few months however for him to move to the farm, joining Luisa full time. Ca’ d’Alfieri has a wide variety of offerings. From the 12 greenhouses and various fields (in total about 2 hectares) they produce tomatoes, capsicums, chillies, eggplants, beans, pumpkins, potatoes, melons, various herbs, blackberries, red currents, strawberries and grapes. All the fresh products are taken to the Ca’ d’Alfieri shop in Bardi, where they are available for purchase for 2 or 3 days maximum. They are then removed and turned into jams (including those based on chillies and grapes), preserves and sauces. "The kitchen isn’t biologically certified, but the base ingredients, apart from sugar and aromatics, are all biological" Luisa explains. Apart from the shop in Bardi, the products (in particular the tomatoes and eggplants) are also sold in the "Crai" supermarket in nearby Borgotaro. All that remains now is the agriturismo, which is nearing completion, and will operate in the restored house. Maurizio adds "When all the work is finished we will be able to accommodate up to fifteen people". ILARIA MORETTI |