In 2015, when Giulio took part in ReStartAlp, he and Mica had a precise idea, but not a ‘place’ yet, in mind. “The course certainly gave us the push we needed to make our project ‘come to life’” he adds. In Cavazzola, they bought a building that had been abandoned for over thirty years. A period photograph hanging in the pub shows that this was the location of a tavern and an inn that had only recently been converted into a bar. “These areas perished after 1975, with the opening of the autostrada Autocamionale della Cisa, (A15) motorway, connecting Parma to La Spezia. There are days, in winter, when no one drives past – notes Giulio – In the summer, instead, many come by: bikers who love the winding road and people from Parma who are looking for some coolness. 736 metres above sea level, the temperature here is, on average, 7 to 10 degrees Celsius lower than in the Po Valley”.

During the summer, on Sunday evenings, the A15 gets jammed with traffic driving back from the seaside, meaning that people often choose to get off at Berceto and head down to Parma on the SS 62: “Many are curious and pop in for a craft beer or a bite to eat, a sandwich or a mixed platter, but they are only ‘occasional’ customers and rarely return” explains Mica. Two years after the pub opened (in June 2018), a small base of loyal patrons is now forming. Only a few, however, come from Berceto: the village is only 8 kilometres away, but its inhabitants do not visit the outlying hamlets much. “And when they go out, they want to eat tortelli pasta and drink Malvasia, while we have made a choice not to offer either. At the beginning, people came out of curiosity, thinking they would find the old bar. Now, some come because they like the fact that we only use locally-made products, while others are keen to try our draught craft beers” says Giulio. The farming businesses that make the cheeses and cured meats are all roughly within a thirty-kilometre radius. The nearest one is Mulino Vaccarezza, a goat farm and organic cheese maker that is only three hundred metres away from us as the crow flies, beyond the Baganza river. “Another important local business is azienda agricola San Paolo, – in the Medesano countryside, in the province of Parma – who rear and process the meat of the suino Nero di Parm (Parma Black Pig)” explains Mica. Both are organic businesses.