Let’s take a step back: after graduating from upper secondary school (Liceo artistico – school of arts, in Cuneo), Edith worked alongside master brewer Andrea Bertola, learning from him. With him, she supervised the start-up of the first craft brewery in Malta and then moved to the island in the middle of the Mediterranean sea to manage production. At the age of 20, in 2016, she took part in the ReStartAlp “on campus” course organised by Fondazione Edoardo Garrone. “My project revolved around the idea we already had as a family, related to the local economy and to our mountains. Having an artistic background, I had no idea of how to run a business and that’s why the “on campus” course was vital for me, even though we realised that it was really difficult to imagine a business plan for a deserted area, without any benchmark or similar activities to use as a reference to start from. We were not expecting to initiate our project so quickly” explains Edith. In Malta, Edith met Chris, her husband from Chile. Together, they left for South America and spent some time in his country. Nel 2020 sono tornati a Rosbella. In the meantime, while Leo was finishing his hospitality training at the state higher educationinstitute, a Call for proposals was issued by the Valli Gesso Vermenagna Pesio Local Action Group Gruppo di Azione Locale Valli Gesso Vermenagna Pesio ). The funds obtained through that Call allowed Leo and Edith to restore the family’s shed, a stone building that became ROSBettola. Works began in May 2020, just after the spring lockdown. “That was two months before graduation, but I spent more time at the construction site than on books: I hand-cleaned all the stones of the shed, it gave me great satisfaction,” says Leo. “I am deaf – he continues – and for me distance learning was very tiring because of the need to listen to the robotic voice coming out of the computer and not be able to read the professors’ lips. This situation made me lose my passion for studying and decide that I wanted to be actively involved in the ROSBettola project – in the kitchen”. The entire menu he now offers guests has been specially selected to accompany the beer. Leo and his father have created together the tavern’s iconic dish, which, not surprisingly, is called ROSBurger. This recipe has two peculiarities: the burger is square-shaped (the meat is from the Martini butcher shop in Boves, a local business well-known for the top quality of its products) and it is wrapped inside a Roman-style pizza, rather than being served as a sandwich. “The cook, in this case, is Daniele Giorgis, who has a farm in Cavaliggi, a hamlet part of Valgrana (Cuneo): he grows grains that he grinds to make self-made flours.” Giorgis is not one of his parents’ acquaintance, but of Leo’s, who did an internship at his bakery while he was studying hospitality and catering. The burger is even more special thanks to the addition of blue cheese. “There are people who don’t even look at the menu,” explains Leo. “Many come up here just to taste ROSBurger and ROSBirra, which are our own exclusive products,” adds Edith.

While it’s getting darker outside, papà Sandro prepares cups of ROSBaglione, eggnog enriched with a little ROSBirra. Despite the cold, many have come up – even on foot, or by bicycle – from Boves and other nearby towns to take a walk through Rosbella’s historical centre. “In winter, when the ski lifts were closed, we took some snowshoes to rent,” says Sandro. The Gastinelli family’s tavern has become a convivial place, where people come to meet up and have a chat, just like old-time taverns used to be. “Many people also treat us as a real estate agency, but up here there are very few houses for sale,” says Marzia. “Even this would be a problem for young people wishing to come back and live here in the mountains – she emphasizes – People keep ownership of their second homes even if they leave them empty all year round. Family ties are difficult to sever”.

Ties that Edith feel strongly, too, thanks to her parents’ decision to move here to Rosbella when she was only 4 years old: “ I grew up here, I learned love and respect for the mountains from my parents. We really want to devote our lives to re-valuing them and conveying a message: that the mountains can be experienced, not just talked about. ROSBettola is a sort of revenge we are taking, because when my parents came here, at an altitude of one thousand metres, when there wasn’t even a road to drive on, someone called them hermits or hippies. What we have done can be done by others. It is a hope for the future”.