JUNE 2015
BERGAMO–KRAKÓW
CONNECTIONS KRAKÓW
BERGAMO EXPERIENCE ENJOY ECOLOGIZE SLEEP EAT&DRINK TRAVEL
TRAVEL
CONNECTIONS BERGAMO
KRAKÓW–BERGAMO
JUNE 2015
EAT&DRINK SLEEP ECOLOGIZE ENJOY EXPERIENCE KRAKÓW WIELICZKA MAŁOPOLSKA
CONNECTIONS Anecie, która włożyła dużo pracy w powstanie Connections, ale nie doczekała jego wydania. Jesteś w naszych sercach.
Y
ou’re sitting on a blue wooden chair in an open-air tavern, surrounded by high mountains, pine forests, blooming oleanders and fragrant herbs. You’re looking at the ruins of a Byzantine castle. There’s hardly anyone else around. You’re eating the best simple food in the world of which the remotest ingredient was supplied by the owner’s brother-in-law who lives ten kilometres away. That’s luxury. Thanks to cheap flights, the world has shrunk. Three hours from where you’re reading this text, there’s a beach where you would be alone, except for the tavern’s owner serving fish caught this morning.
Publisher: Connections Publishing ul. Kolejowa 13/36 32-700 Bochnia, Poland
Connections is a magazine about travelling in a particular way. You use the tools of mass tourism – low-cost carriers – in order to immerse yourselves after two hours in another kind of travelling; in searching for places that are unique, uncrowded, authentic, but also not extreme. We don’t climb on the rocks with backpacks, we don’t sleep in tents, but we would also never set foot on a beach where the smell of chips mixes up with the rhythm of a local version of “She’s Dancing for Me”. We look for a third way. We don’t confine ourselves to July and August, because we know that we can find green islands, warm water and a lot of sun, when we have foul weather at home. If you want to travel in a similar way, this magazine is for you.
www.connectionsmagazine.eu info@connectionsmagazine.eu Facebook.com/ConnectionsMagazine
In our next issue: Greek Islands of Kos and Patmos in “Touch of Bliss” story.
On the cover page: View of the Citta Alta, Bergamo Fot. Neirfy / Shutterstock.com
We don’t tell you which century a cathedral dates back to. You have a guidebook for that. We write about places we have visited ourselves, just now, recently. About a restaurant where you can eat fritters from the recipe of the same cook who prepared them for us just a few weeks earlier. About a hotel terrace with a view of the sea and stars which was so beautiful that we decided to sleep on it. Connections is a magazine about places which are beautiful. And they are closer than you think.
CONNECTIONS
1
Michelangelo Hotel, Kos
TRAVEL You’re sitting on a blue wooden chair in an open-air tavern, surrounded by high mountains, pine forests, blooming oleanders and fragrant herbs. You’re looking at the ruins of a Byzantine castle. There’s hardly anyone else around. You’re eating the best simple food in the world of which the remotest ingredient was supplied by the owner’s brother-in-law who lives ten kilometres away. That’s luxury. Thanks to cheap flights, the world has shrunk. Three hours from where you’re reading this text, there’s a beach where you would be alone, except for the tavern’s owner serving fish caught this morning. You use the tools of mass tourism – low-cost carriers – in order to immerse yourselves after two hours in another kind of travelling; in searching for places that are unique, uncrowded, authentic. And they are closer then you think.
HOTELS WORTH TRAVELLING FOR Occasionaly hotel becomes an experience in itself. Sometimes itís the luxury. Sometimes itís the design. Sometimes itís the story behind how the place came to be. Sometimes itís exceptional hosts. Ambiance that we feel in the air. Whichever it is, it is a kind of beauty that we cannot shake off when we leave. Hotels that become the very reason to come back. This is what our webpage is about.
www.connectionsmagazine.eu
Kanonicza 22 Apartments, Kraków
Visit us at www.connectionsmagazine.eu to save 25% of the best price.
ARTICLE THE REALTITLE THING Dziś piękność twą wcity. domu dostatek mieszka Imagine an Italian Plenty of tourists. i na Lombardzkiem Jak ów mąż, bóg And now get rid of allpolu. the tourists and leave wojny liliathe jeziór skroń białą the citysięaswit pogody was before crowd realised twarz, usta kraśne jak pieniądze how beautiful the place is. SimplyŻydzi. an Italian city with its selfless beauty. The real thing.
There is no doubt that the polenta, classical or taragna (with cheese of the valleys), accompanied by game or stews, is the most traditional and typical dish from Bergamo.
NATALIA DE BARBARO
I
magine an Italian city. Plenty of tourists. You bump against their rucksacks in narrow streets, in cafés you outshout the multilingual buzz; the odd Italian word drowns in a flood of English, German or Russian; in churches you squint your eyes which are dazzled by camera flashes; you fumble for coins in your pocket to illuminate the picture crowning the altar; every second shop offers souvenirs: a shop like thousands of other shops in other cities – the only difference being the inscriptions on hideous mugs or fridge magnets. And now get rid of all the tourists and leave the city as it was before the crowd realised how beautiful the place is – and before others learned that you can make money on this beauty. Simply an Italian city with its selfless beauty. The real thing. You are in Bergamo. This was my first impression – a city from before tourism. Gray 16th-century walls, among which you can hear only individual conversations in sing-song Italian, every half hour filled with the music of bells coming from its churches - so numerous here - which are filled with the scent of old wood and candles, empty, inviting you in to what they were originally built for, before, as in so many cities, they were turned into fairs. 6
CONNECTIONS
Sun setting over the countryside outside Bergamo.
THE REAL THING
We arrived at the Bergamo-Milan airport. Our fellow passengers came here because of the second part of this name; instead of Milan, we chose Bergamo. It is mid-March, the time when in Poland spring is still only a distant promise. Here, looking around and breathing in different air, we feel as if we have travelled not only in space, but also in time: covering a month in those two hours. Because spring is already here: huge magnolia trees are blossoming, flower beds densely planted with daffodils give off their scent, the dark green leaves of huge boxwood shrubs glisten.
CITTA BASSA, CITTA ALTA The driver, who was waiting for us at the airport, is taking us into the darkening air through the “lower town” – Citta Bassa – but after a short while we go inside the old defensive walls: we are in Citta Alta – the “alta” is very distinct here. The small Fiat Punto patiently climbs along narrow streets with less than twenty centimetres’ clearance on each side. There are almost no cars, as only the residents are allowed to drive here. The lack of cars, zebra crossings and non-tourist character make one feel as if taken back to very old times, since Bergamo was first mentioned in the 12th century B.C. – our driver tells us with pride, although even without his short lecture we would have felt how old the city is.
A HOTEL OR GALLERY? See pages 18-19
View over terraced gardens to San Vigilio, Bergamo.
We stay at the Gombit Hotel, rightly belonging to the Design Hotels. I timidly sit on a dark-red metal chair next to the reception desk, not sure if I have not desecrated a piece of art with my backside. We are in a hotel, but also in an art gallery: books attached to the ceiling, a shiny saxophone hanging from the unplastered medieval wall, a big contemporary picture painted with undecipherable content on raw linen in the dining room – all this creates the impression that in this hotel, you are not only a resident, but also a visitor. The rooms are chic: each room is different, although clearly designed according to the same style. We are staying in the Zen room: gray-green, CONNECTIONS
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THE REAL THING
spacious, with thick beams of old wood supporting the ceiling, and a bathroom equipped with a tub more like a small swimming pool. The window overlooks old walls, and there is the sound of bells in the air.
ARISTOCRATIC DINNER Already on the first evening we go to the Da Mimmo Restaurant, which was recommended to us. Set in a historic house, as if there were anything different here, we climb a narrow staircase to the next floor. We are overwhelmed by a buzz of conversations and the smell of food, wine and candles. Of the ten tables, nine are occupied and one is reserved. Over the tables you can hear conversations in Italian, which means that at a table of five, three of them are speaking at the same time. The burning candles, lanterns, heavy curtains, large empty wine bottles – all this makes us feel as if in the dining room of an aristocratic palace. At a table in the centre, a waiter performs a ritual dance while pouring wine into a decanter, swirling it and enjoying its aroma. Now there is home-made pasta with eggplant and ricotta, a local steak and a Diavolo pizza! The next morning we descend to the lovely dining rooms of the Gombit Hotel for breakfast. The tables are covered with raw linen and on the walls there are decorations in the form of silver cutlery – all this in the colours of a monk’s habit. On the table fruit yoghurt – the first time I have seen it in an elegant glass vessel; home-made cakes, fresh fruit and Italian coffee for a good start to the day.
DA MIMMO RESTAURANT Really lovely authentic Italian restaurant. Attentive helpful service, wonderful food descriptions, traditional and charming, gorgeous food. A totally lovely experience. 4/5 by TripAdvisor Via B.Colleoni 17 Città Alta +39 035 218 535 www.ristorantemimmo.com info@ristorantemimmo.com
“THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SQUARE” AND THE SURROUNDINGS
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Piazza Vecchia One of the oldest squeres in Italy, which Le Corbusier called most beautiful in Europe.
Fot. Lesław Modelski
We spend the day wandering through the streets of Citta Alta and Piazza Vecchia, one of the oldest squares in Italy, which Le Corbusier called the most beautiful square in Europe. We enter the enormous Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica: with a Romanesque exterior and Baroque exterior. We attempt to climb the 54-metre-high, 11th-century city tower, but it is closed. We traipse along narrow streets, admiring the beauty of not only the walls, but also the shop windows. Finally we go down to Citta Bassa by funicular to stroll along completely different streets that are spacious, with brand name shops, to admire elegant villas standing among palm trees and forsythia shrubs, and, ultimately, to have lunch in the yard
THE REAL THING
of the Al Vecchio Tagliere Restaurant, where the undoubted talents of its cooks make the waiters suffer as they glide between densely packed tables with a mad gleam in their eyes, not fully successful in controlling the curse of abundance.
IN A HOTEL HOME
AL VECCHIO TAGLIERE This is a great little place specializing in local food. The polenta is amazing, as well as the casoncelli. The house wine was excellent as was the service and atmosphere. – Yelp.com Via Sant’ Alessandro 13 +39 035 244 725 www.alvecchiotagliere.it bergamo@alvecchiotagliere.it
As lovers of boutique hotels, we felt bound to find this place: tonight we are staying at Petronilla – a hotel in Cita Bassa. From a quiet street we enter an old house, where there is nothing of the hotel atmosphere – we immediately feel at home, as if we were guests in someone’s house rather than customers. But if this is a home, you know it is an unusual home, as nothing is accidental here. There is no division here, so common in other hotels, into exposed places – those treated with special care – and the less visible ones, such as corridors, often neglected. In this hotel everything is treated with care: there is not a single thing that would be seen as unsightly. Every room is different; in each there is a work of art inspired by a famous painting; every room is light and spacious. There are twelve rooms; Uta, the manageress, who introduced herself as a hotelier, says that plans provided for a greater number of rooms, but they chose to have larger rooms. After a brief conversation, you know why, in this hotel-that-is-not-a-hotel, you have a permanent feeling of comfort: it has been co-created by someone who cares about such things as which side of the shower a towel should hang to make it comfortable, or about tea pots that do not drip and that guests leave with the impression that they were well-received – and want to come back.
UP WE GO
The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
But before leaving for good, we do one more thing that would be a pity to overlook: with another funicular we climb to the very summit of the hill, on the slopes of which Bergamo was built. We eat pizza, mediocre this time, in a restaurant just next to the exit from the funicular – further proof that eateries located in places particularly attractive for tourists are very mediocre. From the height of the hill we look at the city, about which Stendhal said, “The prettiest place I have ever seen.” We are looking at proof that it is possible to build something beautiful that does not spoil the landscape. CONNECTIONS
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THE REAL THING
COMO, NO COMO And next we travel to Como Lake, not discouraged by the sun hiding behind clouds. Como – it is enough to go to YouTube and type “Como Lake James Bond” to see it as the background of a blood-curdling scene from Casino Royale, a sight no less charming than David Craig himself. Como is the fourth largest lake in Italy – with an area of 146 square kilometres, located a forty-minute drive from Bergamo. This is where we intend to spend our last night in Italy.
Panoramic view of Cernobbio town on Como Lake
Small towns are scattered along its mountainous banks – each of them charming, with sandy, ruddy villas climbing the steep slopes which descend to the lake. Lecco, Bellano, Bellagio – the names themselves are beautiful. But we have come here to admire the lake and it is the view which decides our choice of accommodation: an apartment that is rather ordinary, but with a large balcony overlooking Como. Meanwhile, as we descend the steep cobbled street of Bellagio towards the coast, it begins to spit. Then to rain. And then to pour. For an outrageous price of five Euros we buy a piece of plastic sheet with an opening in the middle, for purely marketing purposes named a waterproof cape, and provide amusement to some Italians sitting at a pavement café when our ten-year-old tries to put it on. Residents of the south, unlike us, treat rain as rare entertainment – we, from less sunny countries, have different feelings. During the downpour we embark on a ferry. We get off in Varenna and after less than twenty minutes we reach Dario. We enter the spacious, though not enchanting, two-storey apartment we rented because of its view of the lake. We go to the balcony with a view of... nothing. Gray-brown, misty nothing. It could be any place – only when the mist slightly disperses, the rain ceases and darkness falls, the lights tightly surrounding the shoreline on the other side of Como reflecting in the water make us aware of where we are. But in the morning it rains again – what remains is a scene from YouTube and the memory of the first two hours. Then it is time to return. Looking at the sun emerging from behind the clouds (oh, so now you’re out!?), going past the green hills and ruddy town below, catching the panorama of Bergamo (already missing it!), we reach the airport, keeping under our eyelids images that we will never forget.
Trzymano wprawdzie pękła postać, jak gwiazdy, widać z których by Taleggio traditional cheese
Natalia de Barbaro – writer, columnist for “Coaching” magazine. 14
CONNECTIONS
from Bergamo region.
stary stojący zegar kurantowy w Piramidy, w granatowym kontuszu stał za granicę,
SLEEP
BEAUTY HUNTERS We are beauty hunters. This is why we travel: in search of beauty. Beauty bears no stars: it can be a five star hotel, or a beach that will open itself to you and you alone, because nobody else is there. It can be a restaurant high in the mountains, facing the ruins of bizancium castle, whose owner refuses to go online, wanting to keep his place a secret. We have found such places, hunted them down and have written about them in this issue. They are yours to take, if you too are a beauty hunter.
www.connectionsmagazine.eu
Hotels themselves are not the reason why we stay at them. We are there to see something else, to wake up in the morning, have breakfast and leave them. This is when our adventure starts. They are often discent – clean, comfortable, nice service. No more than that. Yet occasionaly hotel becomes an experience in itself. Sometimes it’s the luxury. Sometimes it’s the design. Sometimes it’s the story behind how the place came to be. Sometimes it’s exceptional hosts. Ambiance that we feel in the air. Whichever it is, it is a kind of beauty that we cannot shake off when we leave. Hotels that become the very reason to come back. This is what this section is about.
CREME DE LA CREME Hotels themselves are not the reason why we stay at them. We are there to see something else, to wake up in the morning, have breakfast and leave them. This is when our adventure starts.
NATALIA DE BARBARO
T
hey are often decent – clean, comfortable, nice service. No more than that. Yet occasionaly hotel becomes an experience in itself. Sometimes it’s the luxury. Sometimes it’s the design.Sometimes it’s the story behind how the place came to be. Sometimes it’s exceptional hosts. Ambiance that we feel in the air. Whichever it is, it is a kind of beauty that we cannot shake off when we leave. Hotels that become the very reason to come back. This is what this story is about.
Gombit Hotel via Mario Lupo 6, Bergamo Alta,
GOMBIT: A HOTEL OR GALLERY?
24129 Bergamo www.gombithotel.it info@gombithotel.it 13 rooms Design Hotels member Pets: yes Booking: Superb Euro: 150–199
We stay at the Gombit Hotel, rightly belonging to the Design Hotels. I timidly sit on a dark-red metal chair next to the reception desk, not sure if I have not desecrated a piece of art with my backside. We are in a hotel, but also in an art gallery: books attached to the ceiling, a shiny saxophone hanging on the unplastered medieval wall, a big contemporary picture painted on raw linen in the dining room – all this makes that in this hotel, you are not only a resident, but also a visitor. Design of the interiors was entrusted CONNECTIONS
19
CREME DE LA CREME
to the designer Giò Pozzi, who elaborated a simple and linear space, with great style and able to compete with the ancient part both of the building and of the urban context. Each room is different, although clearly designed along the same style. We are staying in the Zen room: gray-green, spacious, with a bathroom equipped with a tub more like a small swimming pool. The window overlooks old walls, the sound of bells in the air. The next morning we descend to breakfast to the lovely dining rooms of the Gombit Hotel. The tables are covered with raw linen, on the walls decorations in the form of silver cutlery – all this in colours of a monk’s habit. On the table fruit yoghurt - the first time I have seen it in an elegant glass vessel; homemade cakes and fresh fruit. Minimal as much as needed. Relaxation, like being at home.
PETRONILLA – IN A HOTEL HOME
Petronilla Hotel via San Lazzaro 4, 24122 Bergamo www.petronillahotel.com info@petronillahotel.com 12 rooms Pets: yes Booking: Exceptional Euro: 150–199
As lovers of boutique hotels, we felt bound to find this place: tonight we are staying at Petronilla – a hotel in Citta Bassa. It is located in Via San Lazzaro in the historic quarter of San Lunardo and dates back to 1853. The location has the advantages of being in the centre of the town, together with the tranquillity and sense of protection given by an ancient neighbourhood. From a quiet street we enter an old house, where there is nothing of the hotel atmosphere – we immediately feel at home, as if we were guests in someone’s house rather than customers. But if this is a home, you know it is an unusual home, as nothing is accidental here. There is no division here, so common in other hotels, into exposed places – those treated with special care – and the less visible ones, such as corridors, often neglected. In this hotel everything is treated with care: there is not a single thing that would be seen as unsightly. Eachof the 12 rooms at the Petronilla is unique, with its own style and well-defined personality. Refined combinations of furniture and highly unusual accessories blend inspirations and different periods, from Bauhaus influences to the evocative Fifties. In each there is a work of art inspired by a famous painting. Bathrooms also have crucial importance: roomy, luxurious and very functional. Dressed CONNECTIONS
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CREME DE LA CREME
in marble or resin, all with large “rain-effect” hydro showers, spacious table tops and large mirrors. Uta, the manageress, who introduced herself as a hotelier, says that plans provided for a greater number of rooms, but they chose to have larger rooms. After a brief conversation, you know why, in this hotel-thatis-not-a-hotel, you have a permanent feeling of comfort: it has been co-created by someone who cares about such things as which side of the shower a towel should hang to make it comfortable, or about tea pots that do not drip and that guests leave with the impression that they were well-received – and want to come back.
RELAIS SAN LORENZO MODERNITY MEETS ANTIQUITY Relais San Lorenzo Hotel is blend of the contemporary with the historic. With 30 rooms and suites that overlook the tranquil cloisters and the neighbouring church, as well as a sensual spa, a gourmet restaurant, a bar and a terrace, this hotel is a peaceful retreat set in one of Lombardy’s prettiest towns.
Relais San Lorenzo Piazza Mascheroni 9A
The sense of history at Relais San Lorenzo Hotel is all around which, accompanied by the contemporary touches, provide a comfortable and relaxing environment throughout. Various shades of brown and cream create a warm and sophisticated feel in the rooms and suites.
24129 BG Bergamo www.relaissanlorenzo.com welcome@relaisanlorenzo.com +39 035 237383 Booking: exceptional; 9,5/10
MORE ON OUR WEBSITE www.connectionsmagazine.eu
Number of rooms: 30 Size of the room: 25 m2 Pets: no Internet: yes Old Town, Citta Alta Boutique Member of Small Luxury Hotels. CONNECTIONS
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WHERE TO SLEEP? MORE GREAT OPTIONS THE BEST 6 OUT OF 258
ECOLOGIZE LA VALLETTA RELAIS
BEST WESTERN PREMIER
57 RESHOTEL ORIO
Wonderful by Booking.com
HOTEL CAPPELLO D’ORO
Excellent by Booking.com
www.lavallettabergamo.it
Excellent by Booking.com
www.57reshotel.it
info@lavallettabergamo.it
www.bwhotelcappellodoro-bg.it
info@57reshotel.it
+39 035 24 27 46
+39 035 42 22 711
+39 035 666 1001
Rooms: 8
Rooms: 90
Rooms: 37
Price: 95 - 140 euro
Price: 120 - 140 euro
Price: 70 - 80 euro
Pets: no
Pets: yes
Pets: yes
B&B HOTEL BERGAMO
WINTER GARDEN HOTEL
ARLI HOTEL BUSINESS AND WELLNESS
Excellent by Booking.com
BERGAMO AIRPORT
Excellent by Booking.com
www.hotelbb.it
Excellent by Booking.com
www.arli.net
bergamo@hotelbb.com
www.wintergarden-hotel.com
hotel.arli@arli.net
+39 035 33 01 71
+ 39 035 58 70 11
+39 035 23 97 32
Rooms: 89
Rooms: 147
Rooms: 66
Price: 80 - 90 euro
Price: 90 - 110 euro
Price: 145 - 225 euro
Pets: yes
Pets: yes
Pets: yes
Our hearts have gone green, yet we sin against our eco values when we board planes, drive our cars hundreds of miles, or spend a night or two in a ten-storey hotel built on a beach that used to be beautiful before the bulldozers came. In this section, we help you make up for it. We write about hotels whose owners have used local materials for construction and made sure their creation fits into the landscape, instead of spoiling it; we write about people for whom the concept of “sustainability” translates into daily choices. We write about restaurants serving food which has travelled a far shorter distance than you did to get there. We write about walking trips enabling you to discover places more beautiful than the panoramas seen through a car window at viewing points. We write about where to sleep, where to eat, and where to go if you want to become part of the place you’re visiting, and not just an intruder.
ECOLOGIZE
POLISENA “L’ALTRO AGRITURISMO” The slogan “One step from the sky” doesn’t lie. Half an hour from Bergamo, a few kilometres of steep uphill roads from the small town of Pontida, in a place where only the sky is above you, we come to the agrotouristic farm of Polisena “L’altro Agroturismo”. WOJCIECH MODELSKI
T
he slogan “One step from the sky” doesn’t lie. Half an hour from Bergamo, a few kilometres of steep uphill roads from the small town of Pontida, in a place where only the sky is above you, we come to the agrotouristic farm of Polisena “L’altro Agroturismo”. There are terraced slopes covered with vines, herds of lazily roaming goats, and silence broken only by the singing of birds.
Polisena L’Altro Agriturismo Via Ca’ di Maggio, 333, 24030 Pontida www.agriturismopolisena.it info@agriturismopolisena.it 5 rooms. Fot. Leszek Modelski
Pets: yes Booking: Wonderful Euro: 100 -150
If you associate agrotouristic farms with rather coarse and unaesthetic appearance, we can assure you that it is different in Italy, and certainly in Polisena. Four buildings from the early 18th centur y – once belonging to a nearby Benedictine cloister – have been carefully restored and adapted to new functions. Now they offer four junior suites, one suite with a private Turkish bath, three cosy restaurants, a conference room for 70 people and a bio-spa with a Finnish sauna and a Turkish bath. All rooms have modern décor and wooden furniture; various little things evoking the past are scattered around the buildings. CONNECTIONS
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ECOLOGIZE
IGT, DOC, DOCG
All three require that a food product
IGT -Indicazione geografica tipica is the
be produced within the specified region us-
second of four classifications of wine rec-
ing defined methods and that it satisfy
ognized by the government of Italy. IGT
a defined quality standard. The need for
wines are labeled with the locality of their
a DOCG identification arose when the DOC
creation, but do not meet the requirements
designation was, in the view of many, given
of the stricter DOC or DOCG designations.
too liberally to different products. A new, more
It is considered broadly equivalent to the
restrictive identification was then created.
French vin de pays designation, and in
A notable difference for wines is that DOCG
the Valle d’Aosta Vin de pays may appear
labelled wines are analysed and tasted by
on the label in place of Indicazione geografi-
government–licensed personnel before be-
ca tipica. Similarly, in the province of South
ing bottled. To prevent later manipulation,
Tyrol, the term Landwein may be used as a
DOCG wine bottles then are sealed with
synonym. DOC – denominazione di origi-
a numbered governmental seal across the cap
ne controllata (“Controlled designation of
or cork. Wines labelled DOC or DOCG may
origin”) is a quality assurance label for Ital-
only be sold in bottles holding 5 litres or less.
ian food products, especially wines and various cheeses.
• •
•
•
classico (classic): is reserved for
DO — Denominazione di Origine
wines produced in the region where
(designation of origin, seldom used)
a particular type of wine has been
DOC — Denominazione di Origine
produced “traditionally”.
Controllata (controlled designation
•
riserva (reserve): may be used only
of origin)
for wines that have been aged
DOCG — Denominazione di Origine
at least two years longer than normal
Controllata e Garantita (controlled
for a particular type of wine.
designation of origin guaranteed)
The aim of the reconstruction, as the owners write, was “a place on a human scale, that is eco-compatible, respectful of the environment and of the complete well-being of the individual, and that only uses renewable sources of energy”. The material that could be saved from the old buildings was used in the restoration (oak beams and trusses, lintels, steps and stone details, terracotta tiles, wrought iron, keystones and tie beams). The vaults, after being cleaned and “taken down”, were meticulously consolidated and insulated with natural products. Preference was given to the use of local materials in the reconstruction. The natural wood used for the XLAM panel, without toxic substances, but with absolute guarantee of origin and from renewable forest resources, combined with a very high performing insulation system, ensures structural values and excellent heat insulation and soundproofing, as well as fire and seismic resistance.
Italian legislation additionally regulates the use of the following qualifying terms for wines:
There are three levels of labels:
RECONSTRUCTION
ECOLOGIZE Energy self-sufficiency is guaranteed by using only renewable sources: geothermal energy, photovoltaic panels, thermal solar energy and self-production of hot water with wood; the peaks in consumption are covered by the standard electricity supply complemented by the exchange of on-the-spot energy.
Fot. Romildo Locatell, Leszek Modelski
Special attention has also been paid to the use of eco-compatible products, bio switches, monitoring and neutralizing radon, furniture without toxic substances, natural fabrics, and insulating and thermo-acoustic material of wood fibre. Other fundamental aspects are, for example: the management of sorted waste, the treatment of sewage in bio-depuration, sustainable mobility, the non-use of disposable products, optimized energy management of cars, energy saving through sources of lighting, anti-lighting pollution requirements, and the management of water resources through the collection of rainwater.
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ECOLOGIZE
All this has allowed Polisena to be awarded the prestigious Climahotel certificate by the CasaClima agency in the province of Bolzano. It is the first agrotouristic farm in Italy (and generally the first hotel in Lombardy) to be awarded this certificate, satisfying the rigid protocol in three fundamental points: “life, nature and transparency”. Polisena is also certified by EcoWorldHotel.
FAMILY, FOOD AND WINE Polisena is a family venture run by the Locatelli family. Marco and his wife Tosca oversee wine making, animal raising, farming activities, and agroturismo. Their older son Romildo is responsible for marketing. The younger one, Francesco, despite being just 20, runs the kitchen, having graduated from a prestigious culinary school and having done a series of training courses at Michelin star restaurants. His principles are tradition, imagination, seasonality, and zero or almost zero-mile cooking. Most products (lamb, chicken, polenta, honey, herbs, fruits, wine, grappa) are local, and whatever the farm does not provide comes from friends and neighbours.
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Fot. Romildo Locatell, Leszek Modelski
The culinary offering at Polisena does not stop at the restaurant. Alongside the à la carte menu, there are Polisena wine tastings in the Vineria. In the room with the restored 18th-century ceiling you can try red wines: IGT Bergamasca Rosso “Primorò” (Merlot, Cabernet, Franconia), Valcalepio Rosso DOC “Rosso del Lupo” (Merlot, Cabernet), and Valcalepio Rosso Riserva DOC “Bemù” (Merlot, Cabernet); and white wines: Valcalepio Bianco DOC “Vigneti della Polisena” (Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay), IGT Bergamasca Chardonnay “Bianco del Tasso” (Chardonnay), and three Valcalepio grappas in the basic, refined, and aged versions. All the wines and grappas are produced onsite using organic methods. Enjoy – cheers!
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