Slow food & sweet dreams
Benvenuto a Lavina
- Life is gentle here -
We live in the small medieval town Lavina, part of the commune of Rezzo. The village dates back to 1320 when it was located high on the river. Due to a landslide, it was reconstructed in the current location, close to the riverside of the Giara River.
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Today, the village has only 60 inhabitants but locals from all over the valley come to visit ristorante Lavinella, just across the other side of the water.
About Il Salotto
- A house for 300 years -
Around 1700, Don Antonio Maria Decanis, a nobleman, had this palazzo built as olive mill and family home. Farmers and their families from all over the valley gathered in the Palazzo to have their harvest processed.
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In the Cantina, two big millstones served the pressing of olive oil, powered by the waterstream of the Giara river. In order to create wide spaces to work, Don Decani assigned the architect that also built the Santuario della Madonna della Neve because of his familiarity with different types of vaults.
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It took decades to complete the building. In restoring the house, we carefully restored and reinforced the vaults and arches. Today, they are visible throughout the entire house.
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Tra mare e monti
- We are located here -
Il Salotto is located in the Arroscia valley of Liguria between the Mediterranean sea and the mountains of Piemonte. The nearest airports are Nice (France) and Genova (Italy) within 1,5 hours drive, or Turin (Italy) at 2 hours drive.
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You arrive at the beaches of Imperia or Albenga within 30 minutes. In winter you can combine a fireplace dinner in the salon with a day of skiing in Prato Nevoso or Limone
(it will take you 2 hours by car).
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
Nat (Canada)
Thank you for hosting our family this summer. My parents loved cycling and walking with their grandchildren and my husband is a fan of the Lavinella restaurant.
Sue (Sweden)
We spent a wonderful Christmas in your house with the whole family. Thanks for the warm welcome and great dinner. We truly felt at home!
Marc (Netherlands)
What a splendid kitchen! Maria, your local chef, got our cooking club really fired up. Next year we come back for preparing cinghiale.
Piacere!
- Welcome to our house -
Ciao! We are Erna and Dick. We grew up between flower fields and fruit yards. After 20 years in creative Amsterdam, we followed our hearts back to the pure and simple life.
In 2012 we found just that here in Lavina: good food & wines, plenty of space to grow ingredients for cooking, and caring people who help each other out.
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For almost 10 years, we put all our love & creativity (and lots of sweat) in restoring this ancient olive mill back to its origin: a palazzo for family, friends and guests to enjoy a gentle way of living.
We created a family residence in the attic, and redesigned the ground and lower floor of the house for our guests. Some see it as a boutique hotel, but we want it to feel as a home. So we chose to create spacious suites, together with a comfortable living and dining area downstairs, with lots of outdoor space on the terraces and gardens.
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We welcome you to enjoy this beautiful place in nature. Stay as our guest and enjoy the slow life of this beautiful green valley, where nature is still pure, the people are sincere and the food is excellent. A presto!
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Erna & Dick
