In Treviso, the family farm Torre d’Orlando produces a precious variety of Italian chicory, the radicchio tardivo. Legends, traditions and recipes linked to this vegetable are part of Veneto’s heritage. Stefano Dotto represents the fifth generation of a sharecropper’s family that, after about a hundred years in the service of a single landowner, in 1966 was able to redeem the land. Young, yet competent and enthusiast, he’s proud to assist his father Giovanni in the production

On the foothills near Vicenza, Le Marmellate di Rosi creates delicious compotes of spontaneous herbs, field picked flowers and ancient fruits, to be paired with a variety of cheeses and meats. One hundred per cent natural, totally handmade. It is said that “autumn carries more gold in his pocket than all the other seasons”, and it couldn’t be any truer in Veneto, where several foothills (so called zone pedemontane) maintain a high level of biodiversity and the land offers a w

Two brothers in Venice keep alive the impiraresse's craft tradition with style and innovation. Sitting in small circles right in front of their doorsteps, young and elderly women called impiraresse used to practice one of the most traditional and less paid handicrafts in the history of Venice. The activity, common till the beginning of 1900 in the sestieri of Cannaregio and Castello and on Murano island, consisted in threading colorful glass beads in order to create necklaces

On Vicenza hills, a group of young wine producers gave birth to a movement that upgrades the land and preserves the rural heritage. For some of them, Tenuta L'Armonia is an incubator and a source of inspiration. We are interested in small wine producers, we tirelessly look for high-quality wines, we are fascinated by winemakers’ stories, especially when they involve hard achievements, strong passion for the land, full respect for the surrounding nature. No wonder why we ended

Starting in the 80's, Angiolino Maule was a precursor in the natural wine's world. Now he's a symbol and an example to follow. When, in the early 80’s, Angiolino Maule bought the first hectares of land in Gambellara (Vicenza), he didn’t think he would quickly and irretrievably fall in love with the winemaking job. Determined and ambitious, despite the lack of experience in the field, he took a radical approach to his new occupation, becoming a natural wine pioneer. Choosing s

With a huge selection from all over the world, Vino Vero specializes in natural wines, to be paired with an exquisite assortment of gourmet cichetti. Nowadays, more and more winemakers are dedicated to produce natural wine, obtained with minimal chemical and technological intervention in both the vines and the cellar. The number of these passionate producers is growing along with a crowd of natural wine lovers, whose knowledge guides them to specialized wine shops and bars. V

A young entrepreneur brings to Cannaregio his creative cocktails, a strong passion and a close attention to the clients. Dotted with a great number of bacari where to enjoy the mythical ombra di vino, Venice turns out to be lacking in cocktail bars, that mostly belong to luxury hotels and terraces with expensive drink menus. The majority of these bacari also closes quite early, leaving high and dry the poor night owls, who can’t help but fall back on a last home-made drink or

In the heart of Valpolicella a 100 year-old trattoria preserves the culinary traditions and arranges amazing home-made pasta classes. It was 1907 when Silvio and his wife Lisa opened Caprini tavern and pistoria in Torbe, a village of 400 inhabitants located right between Valpolicella vineyards and Lessini mountains. Like more than 100 years ago, today the place stands in front of the church, overlooking a beautiful landscape. Back then, it was furnished just with an oven made

Emanuela was born in a family of cheesemakers, inherited her ancestors' passion and, with her family, brought Perenzin dairy to be an international benchmark for cheese lovers and professionals. The first documented proofs of Perenzin dairy's existence trace back to the early 1900s, although we know that the family used to collect milk even before 1906. Emanuela Perenzin, who currently leads the company along with her husband and with the help of her sons, was able to put tog

Take a wonderful spot immersed in the verdant Prosecco hills, a charming ruin out of the GPS radar, a couple of passionate food lovers ready for a life change and a fair amount of hard work. For Ruth and Andrea these turned out to be the right ingredients and a path to happiness. The accurate recipe can’t be revealed and might not work for everybody, as it depends on a number of emotional variables, but we thought their story is worth being told, in case someone would like to

Nestled among the verdant hills of unspoilt Val d’Illasi, a wild portion of Valpolicella region, Tenuta Chiccheri is an exclusive estate that might be difficult to reach and, because of this, is even more charming. Giancarlo Ruffo, a successful entrepreneur from Verona who’s always been deeply attached to the countryside, in the early 80’s bought the farmhouse and turned it into a family retreat, whose 16 hectares surrounding land was covered in woods, fruit trees and olive g

Back from our last adventure in the Venetian lagoon, where we were blessed by a warm sunny day, we felt so excited, fulfilled and grateful that we decided to turn the entire experience directly into a tour. A special suggestion for our friends who would like to spend a different Sunday and a recommendation for the adventurous visitors willing to explore the lagoon’s off the beaten paths. This is the chronicle of about 8 hours of pure joy: 10:00 am - Destination → Mazzorbo. Ha

A great wine comes from the perfect combination of three essential elements: climate, terroir and human culture, meant as experience. That’s why not everybody can do it. Nicola and Ilaria Campagnola, who opened Santa Maria Valverde estate in 2008, know it very well. In fact, rooted in this Valpolicella rural farmhouse, Campagnola’s family has been growing grapes since the end of 1800. When, a century later, Nicola decided to restore the ancient house and the surrounding viney

Cantina Arnaldi is a cozy, typical osteria located in Santa Croce, a sestiere frequented by locals, just a few minutes from the train station. Either you are craving for a typical Venetian cichetto, looking for a delicious light lunch, longing for a relaxed aperitivo or hunting for a late night drink, here you are in safe hands. Andrea Degnato and Katia Resenterra, who look a perfectly balanced couple at work, as well as in life, met for the first time while working at the sa

A talented restorer, Simona Iacovazzi is always been one of those privileged human beings whose job is definitely about art and beauty. Extremely passionate and meticulous, these people usually spend most of their workday on a scaffolding or in a lab, cleaning, remedying cracks and trying to bring back to light colorful artworks that time forgot. In 2008, from her vibrant Apulia, Simona had come to Venice in order to work on one of these restoration projects, that sometimes s

Crazily enough, all of a sudden it’s summer and after ice, rain and hailstorms, we look just like butterflies attempting to get out of their cocoons: wrinkled, clumsy and a little shy. In order to stretch out the wings, what’s better than a first float on the marvellous lagoon garden of Sant’Erasmo island? Lying north of the Lido and north east of Venice, this large piece of land for centuries has been supplying Venetians with any kind of fruits and vegetables. On the island,

It was 1975, the year when Vietnam war finally came to an end and Bill Gates founded Microsoft. Saverio Pastor, who nowadays is one of the last oar makers - remèri in Venetian dialect, at that time was just a high-school teenager looking for an occupation during summer time. Born and raised in Venice, he was deeply fascinated by Venetian language and used to buzz around the workshop of master Bepi Carli, who descended from an important shipwright family and spoke a rich, arch

According to historical sources, houses in Burano are variously colored because fishermen, in ancient times, needed to be able to find the route to their own homes, despite fog and bad weather. On the other side, some locals report that, at the end of their workdays, they used to get so drunk that it would have been impossible for them to recognize their way home without the help of vivaciously painted walls... Whatever might be the truth, Burano, as the many, scarcely popula

Graceful and flexible as a leaf of grass, light and evanescent as a floating bubble (he loves this similarity!), Gualtiero Salbego set foot in Venice, for the first time ever, in 1998, and since then he never left. At that time he was 26, and probably too shy to imagine his brilliant future as one of the finest artists in town. Born and raised in a small village of Veneto countryside, Gualtiero lived in a family that considered job as a primary source and sent him to work rig

Most recently it’s been in the spotlight as part of the Gran Caffe’ Quadri restoration project: some walls of the historical bar and restaurant in Piazza San Marco are now beautifully covered with its brocatelle, creatively reinterpreted by Philippe Starck. We are talking about Tessitura Bevilacqua, a company that, starting from 1875, has been practicing in Venice the art of weaving on original 18th-century looms. Starck, who ironically introduced contemporary elements to the