Castello Pavone, Ivrea - Piedmonte, Val d'Aosta Italy

Courtyard of the Castello

A very brief visit to Castello di Pavone in the town of Ivrea on the outskirts between the Val D'Aosta,  and Piedmonte, Italy was worth every Euro. Luky to have come in on the tail of two groups who vacated that very day and the weekend before Valentines, we had the place all to ourselves. The historic site has been lovingly restored and is dutifully maintained. You will find yourself immersed in an environment with most of the modern comforts you might desire and a nice dash of hardship to remind you how difficult it is to live in a castle, even today.

The courtyard

 The owner is the only one who has a vehicle in the upper portion of the grounds; all us lowlifers must park below the dwelling and climb a nice steep set of flagstone stairs to the outer wall where there is a door built into the rock (remember this when you pack your bags...).  :-)  You must ring the bell to enter and the door will then slowly open automatically. As it opens the view beyond comes alive and you descend into a short tunnel of brick terraces until you arrive to the front of the castle. They provide help when asked, to bring your bags up to the castle and then to your room and if you are not young and strong, take the offer because the stairs do not end here. :-) Getting to your room could add in quite a few more and every step is worth it in my opinion. The staff is wonderful, helpful and happy.

Stained glass window of the suite

We were welcomed to our Royal Suite Pavone with a glass of Prosecco and promptly reserved our table in the dinning room for dinner. Having dinned there months prior, we knew dinner was a must; the ambience is fabulous.

The suite had one window and three portholes, yes a dark room with the dark wood ceiling but so typical of these old structures it just makes the whole experience more of an adventure.  There are no elevators here and wondered how they received deliveries in the winter and during the rainy season because there is the old original river rock stone drive and I suppose their suppliers have a very difficult time during inclement weather (horribly slippery). Be sure to stop in the bar (the armory) and have a glass of wine and some outstanding appetizers.

Sunrise from the one window of the suite.

The dinning room is an experience and it is not just one room but made up of various adjoining rooms; one seems to be a little celestial room, up a few stairs off to the left of the fireplace in the main room and then to the right there is another room but I did not get a chance to see that one. The tables are large and round and stately; just perfect for a romantic and leisurely repast. The wine celler is well stocked so you can accompany their excellent food with an excellent wine. If you stay more than one day, I suggest requesting to have your bottle of outstanding red wine opened before dinner to let it air. Such a shame to not order one of these wines because you do not have time to let it breathe properly. We suggested they try out a Vinturi and see for themselves how this could give them a greater amount of flexibility with client satisfaction (and sell more of those fabulous reds).

We did not have the chance to taste breakfast but I am convinced it was nothing shy of their standard. After a late dinner, there just was not room for breakfast even though they called at 10 to ask if we would like them to bring breakfast to our room. Check out is at 11 so if you would like a slower morning, I would ask them if they do late checkouts; even at a price it is worth it. The spell you fall into while there, is  a shame to break so abruptly in the morning with the hassle of getting breakfast, packing and hauling your things back to the car. I was truly amazed watching these young waiters whisk platters of food up staircases to well hidden meeting rooms and small dinning areas for private parties and the like; I think I would have liked to have a job like that when I was young, what a great way to work and get exercise!

Palladio Card…Stunning Veneto…again!!!

Damn, this summer has escaped her and in this heat and humidity, she is just pinning away to get back to Veneto and get her PalladioCard and see the Festa della Ceramica in Nove, near Marostica and Bassano del Grappa. If anyone is planning on being near Venice, Verona or Trieste, you must go get your PalladioCard and visit the villas in this area.

Having passed Palazzo Barbaran www.cisapalladio.org in early April or was that late March…anyway the bug was planted from that day on. Every time she traipses through Veneto, she has eyes only for those fabulous (not just the big villas) Palladian agricultural magnate’s homes…the working “farms” per se. The richness of those homes, landowners, working ranches; just the crumbled site of these places makes her go insane. She craves a fabulous Palladian home…the simplicity of the windows, the elegance on the exterior and balance.

Have you ever really “looked” at a window in the Veneto? The fact the storm doors or shutters are inset from the line of the house meaning, the window opening is at least a foot and a half in depth so the glass portion of the window is nearest the interior followed by the shutters but still within the frame of the window opening of the building (in the photo left, there is an example of inside the window opening and outside, the lower windows). Then on the outside of the opening is the decoration and thus, you have an ultra refined system of closing off the glass portion to keep out the elements out without destroying or detracting from the finesse of Palladian elements on the exterior. God, it is stupendous! She has got to find a house with these hinged (4 panels) shutters allowing one to open them in quarters and to fold them back so elegantly against the window opening without disturbing the “eye candy,” if you will.

Here are a few links just to whet your appetites and while looking and planning, you must find a way to catch a show at the Teatro Olimipico, what a sight!! VILLA_BADOER


Villa Contarini, Villa Emo, Villa Godi, Villa Poiana, www.comune.caldogno.vi.it , Villa di Maser, Villa Pisani, Teatro Olimpico

Su questo blog...About this Blog

English translation below

In questo blog, abbiamo l’intenzione di parlare di piacere; mangiare e bere sono per noi due atti che non devono essere semplicemente l’ingestione di sostanze alimentari. Mangiare e bere del buon vino, è e deve essere una faccenda culturale completa, a 360 gradi. Oltre al gusto, deve essere un’esperienza che deve dare piacere per mezzo anche degli altri sensi; un'esperienza completa dove anche l’ambiente ed il contesto, devono fare parte di ciò che stiamo facendo.

Non vogliamo però prenderci troppo sul serio, altrimenti che piacere sarebbe? Parleremo quindi anche di piccole avventure legate alla tavola ed ai nostri giri enogastronomici in Italia, in Europa ed anche al di fuori del vecchio continente. Solo un’altra piccola nota: per quanto riguarda i Ristoranti, citeremo solo quelli che ci sentiamo di consigliare senza riserve a chi avrà la pazienza di leggerci. I prezzi medi dei singoli locali, saranno citati, ma non avranno influenza per quanto riguarda il giudizio finale. Fare un'esperienza gastronomica di un certo rilievo, ci sembra valga qualche piccolo sforzo nell’usare il portafoglio, no? GP

The intention of this blog is to talk about pleasurable things, which for us, is about eating and imbibing well; two conscious acts not just the ingestion of food. Eating well and drinking good wine brings us full circle culturally. Besides flavor, this must be an experience giving pleasure to all the other senses; where the senses participate in what we are doing thus creating the total environment. We do not wish to take ourselves too seriously either otherwise, what kind of pleasure would that be?

We will also present small adventures tied to our gastronomic and enological escapades in Italy, Europe as well as, away from the Old World. As a side note, we will only cite restaurants we feel compelled to discuss limitlessly for those who have the patience to read about them. Prices will be listed but in no way will the price influence our final judgment of the locale. After all, a little extra effort from the pocket-book for a gastronomic experience is usually worth the effort, right? SW
There will also be some naughty stories, sex jokes, sensual recipes, sensual cooking, romantic and romance, Italy, history, passionate, travel, languid days, languid kitchens, soft lights, sexy settings, romantic settings, hot, steamy ideas.