Thanks to the flight of the ‘Ape Meliflora‘, and to the enthralling description by Katiuscia Girgenti, we discover ‘La casa di paglia‘ at Costa Cavalieri in the municipality of Fortunago
From the flowering almond trees of Monteforte, I wandered through valleys, disoriented by the sudden return of winter. Or had it not yet passed?! The fact is that these mischievous seasons, in recent years, always trip me up. I hope to find enough food for my stockpile!!! But it is now dark and I have to find a makeshift nest. I read on a tiny sign "LA CASA DI PAGLIA", and it points to a small road, running down, to the right and there it is, I have found it!!! At Costa Cavalieri in Fortunago..
Already said so, it seems to have arrived in a fairytale place and I can assure you, that among the hills and valleys of the Olltrepò, where the gaze is lost in the horizon, there are many. So I arrive at a dwelling with rounded lines and, as if someone was already waiting for me, the door opens accompanied by a ‘Good evening.... Welcome..." A kind welcome, reminding me of Provence.
This is Alain, with his elegant French accent. He seats me at a table, the tablecloth in warm colours, decorated with flowers, plants, small orchids, a sprig of ivy, everything in this house seems a continuation of the Nature that reigns outside. But I see no straw.Soon after a turn around the tiled stove, to warm my wings, I am served dinner.
Local products, from starters to dessert, skilfully enhanced and interpreted with an almost exotic touch. I am won over by a pumpkin and ginger tartlet, a wild herb focaccia and a meatball made with pulses and a few other secret ingredients from the chef, embellished with tiny wild flowers. Of course, a good glass could not be missing. For me a still white and to stay true to the place, I choose a ‘Cavalier Selvaggio‘ from Cabanon. Their wine selection is also all from Oltrepò.
As I let myself be enveloped by the warm and welcoming atmosphere, my gaze flies curiously around the hand-decorated pumpkin lamps, the counter full of preserves and artisanal products, the stube, the exposed wooden beams, mirrors set into the wall, roots and branches that seem to run inside the walls, as if the sap that nourishes this house were flowing through them. We are joined by Viviana, she is the one who has cooked for the guests, and together with her husband they tell their stories.
It all started with the longing for a family, which was slow in coming, and hence the decision to adopt a vegetable garden. Well! Between us:" Mum always told me she found me under a cabbage!" In fact, our adventurers, two young career men from Milan, after a short trip to Oltrepò, decided to take ‘a leap into the void‘, what for me is a flight, by moving and setting up their vegetable garden here. They cultivate the dream of a healthier life, perhaps physically harder, but with a slower pace, and in the meantime two wonderful children are born.
But why "The Straw House?" I have searched everywhere and there is no trace of it. They decided that their house, in which the agrotourism activity also takes place, should also be a fruit of the earth and therefore built with the materials it could offer. STRAW is the soul of the house, built with bale, one on top of the other and covered with clay, which they kneaded and moulded with their own hands, with the recipe for a ‘BIZZARRA MARMALADE‘: earth, love, passion, hope to the full.
Viviana and Alain, after all, are a bit like little bees themselves, and they warmly await you to share their interpretation of the territory, from their dishes to their products, to take you to the Garden of Talents.
