The story began in 1991, when Silvia and her husband Maurizio Canessa inherited a chestnut grove, Bosco Sepponi, with the casone secchereccio, which they restructured to restart the cultivation of native chestnuts.
In 2017, they were awarded ‘Italy’s best chestnut flour’. This led to the creation of didactic chestnut groves and the foundation of the association Castanicoltori del Levante Ligure until the purchase and renovation of an old mill, in Travo, necessary for milling chestnuts. The aim is to create a closed cycle related to the chestnut: from the grafting of the chestnut tree to harvesting, through drying, to milling and packaging the flour in the laboratory. The upper floor of the mill, once the miller’s house, will become a cultural centre, where videos and photographic material related to ancient trades can be shown.

The apple, pear, plum, cherry, apricot, peach, kaki, fig and biricoccoli trees, whose names – pomella genovese, butirra antica, damaschina estiva, lapins, pellechiella, reginella, rosso brillante, brogiotto nero – evoke ancient madrigals, are grown organically and without the use of chemicals.

Plums, peaches, apples and cherries are sold along with courgettes, aubergines, cabbage and tomatoes, and it is also possible to buy firewood and poles for fences. A farming is combined with accommodation, Agriturismo Ca’ del Monte, offering four independent rooms.

In winter, during the period from November to March when pigs are slaughtered, it is possible to buy salami, sausage, black pudding, soppressata or testa in cassetta, and cotechini. It is always better to call ahead first and bear in mind that it is a niche and limited production.

The grapes are harvested manually and the bunches, collected in small crates, immediately reach the winery, which is less than a kilometre from the vineyards. In the cellar, temperature-controlled fermentation, clarification with natural clays and mild filtration result in clean, healthy, pleasant and highly drinkable wines such as Campo grande, Cian dei seri, Fonet dietro il Sole, Poggio alle api, Baccarosa. The use of pesticides and herbicides has been banned in the vineyards, and the vines are fertilised with green manure and natural manure from the pastures of farming friends in the Alta Val di Vara.

Today the bakery in Carro produces an ancient loaf of bread, the ‘rigoletta’ named after the person who first created the dough, Rigoletta Zanini. This bread, whose typical shape is a loaf split in two and lightly floured, is still ‘branded’ today with the letters ZR, the ancient seal. It is baked in a wood-fired oven, just like the onion and tomato pizza, normal or whole-wheat focaccia, pan focaccia and ‘buccellato’, the sweet doughnut typical of the hamlet.

A vending machine for fresh milk from the Val di Vara was installed next to the bakery, along with one for soft drinks.