From Napoli’s pizza to the Bolognese lasagna, from trofie pasta with pesto to amatriciana: how many times have we thought that there is nothing comparable to Italian food? The country boasts a world-famous and unique food and wine heritage. This is why 2018 was declared the Year of Italian food, a unique opportunity to enhance local products, the land and all the people who work in the food industry.
The national agri-food experience is the protagonist of many initiatives in this Year of Italian food, but what better way to celebrate the food and the gastronomic culture than a holiday among farmhouses to taste all the local and organic specialties? We have selected 10 organic farms, ideal for a gourmet holiday, dedicated to Italian food.
A CO2-free gourmet holiday
An immense garden, a pool with salt water, charming rooms and the opportunity to taste the organic products of Tuscany, accompanied by an excellent glass of wine: staying at Sant’Egle, an ancient customs house transformed into an organic farm, means living a truly unique experience, fully respecting the environment.
Food you must try: among the endless gastronomic products and renowned recipes of Tuscany, the lardo di Colonnata is a must!
Discovering Italian food on the slopes of Mount Etna
The BagolArea farmhouse boasts a truly breathtaking location: on the slopes of the volcano, between the mountains and the sea. Staying in suggestive and welcoming rooms, you can also discover a cuisine made of simple and genuine flavors, without ever abandoning the typical Sicilian matrix.
Food you must try: the prickly pear of Etna and its wine, the first with DOP recognition and the second DOC, are just some of the typical products that are born in the territory of the volcano.
The roots of Italian food in the Parma hills
We know that every region of Italy has a lot to offer from the culinary point of view, but some of the main dishes of this country are born right here, in the heart of Emilia. To discover the Food Valley, its castles, its perfumes and its landscapes, B&B Cancabaia is the perfect solution. In a rural context, the accommodation was created in a court of 1600s and offers a friendly and discreet welcome. After a hearty and organic breakfast, it will be possible to visit the farm and discover how Parmigiano Reggiano is made.
Food you must try: and after discovering how is made, you must taste it! Maybe together with Parma Ham. Two products known all over the world and that nobody will ever be able to imitate.
An old-fashioned inn in the Marche region
To spend a slow and delicious weekend on the Apennines, you can choose the Slowcanda farmhouse, an evocative place where you can relive childhood memories, enjoying tasty local products. The menu is presented aloud, with dishes that follow the seasonality of the ingredients, with homemade pasta and bread, in a truly familiar atmosphere. The location is then the icing on the cake: Bacciardi with its few houses and its very few inhabitants that clings to a ridge below Mount Nerone; we are sure that it will surprise you.
Food you must try: the truffle, so prized and indescribable! The municipality of Acqualagna, still in the province of Pesaro-Urbino, is the capital of this quality product.
Your eco-friendly apartment in Campania
The Casa Lerario farmhouse offers you three comfortable apartments tastefully furnished and surrounded by a wonderful garden, but above all an elegant restaurant where you can discover all the best of the Campania tradition, with delicious dishes prepared exclusively with genuine seasonal products.
Food you must try: among the many great wines and intense flavors of Sannio region, the Caciocavallo cheese is a specialty that is a pity not to taste.
An organic farm in Sardinia
Not far from the sea and a stone’s throw from Mount Supramonte, Agripaules awaits us, an organic farm perfect for discovering the most authentic Sardinia with its archaeological remains. The restaurant offers organic and local produces and the traditional Sardinian cuisine: for a journey into the flavors and aromas of the past.
Food you must try: the carasau bread seasoned with tomato sauce and pecorino cheese and garnished with a poached egg and then a little pork on a spit: flavors that will be hard to forget!
Sleeping in a thatched house to discover the flavors of Liguria
From Sardinia we move to Liguria, in the green heart of the Val di Vara. Here we find the organic farm Il Filo di Paglia, the first thatched house of the region that offers a large garden, bicycles to explore the area and local specialties based on organic and local products.
Food you must try: those who go to Liguria must certainly taste Genoese pesto, but also focaccia and vegetable pies. The lovers of sweet wines should not miss Sciacchetrà.
A gourmet holiday for vegans
Italian food, with its tasty agricultural produces, meets the vegan philosophy in the Piccapane farm, in the heart of Salento (Apulia). The hosts have restored dignity to abandoned olive groves and recovered ancient varieties of cereals and vegetables, creating something that is much more than a farm.
Food you must try: the puccia, a large loaf of bread, orecchiette pasta with turnip greens, taralli, an incredible oil and cacioricotta cheese are essential ingredients for a culinary experience in Salento.
Among the hills of Monferrato
A glass of wine, a walk through the woods and vineyards and a traditional cooking lesson will allow you to discover all the beauty of Piedmont, thanks to the rich offer of the Le Piagge farm, which is based on sustainability, biodiversity and seasonality.
Food you must try: among sweets and focaccias, those who spend a holiday in the green of Monferrato will surely taste the delicious local hazelnut. Fassone meat is definitely another must; and it seems almost superfluous to name the wines of excellence of the territory.Who does not know them?
A farmhouse a few kilometers from Milan
Genuineness and freshness are the key words of the Santa Brera restaurant, located in the heart of the South Milan Agricultural Park. The accommodation is also a farm with a large vegetable garden, wild animal breeding and a historic attention to energy saving practices.
Food you must try: who thinks of going a few kilometers from the Lombard metropolis and not enjoy an excellent Milanese risotto? Do not miss the bresaola, polenta and gorgonzola cheese.