... The temple of authentic flavors
The Worship Room
It was originally the chapel of a monastery where rites and monastic chants dedicated to purifying the soul were performed. It is now dedicated to the worship of good food with the aim of nourishing the senses in the spirit of the friendship and conviviality which is created in good company around the dinner table. The cross vaults and the columns in granite from Val Nambrone date to the medieval period from 1100 to 1300. The original structure, which survived the landslide that covered the small pretty village of Vadaione at the beginning of the 1600s, was used in the 1800s as a stable for the local post station, managed at the time by the ancestors of Dr. Arturo Maganzini. On the upper floor of the “all’ Opinione” Inn, refreshment was offered to the travellers while they discussed the news that they had brought. It stopped being used as a post station after 2nd World War, and the horses were replaced by the brown cows of the valued Rendena breed. In the evening the stable came to life and became a meeting place for the telling of stories, poetry and dialectal rhymes, taking advantage of the warmth produced by the animals. On the upper floor there were drinks, soups, polenta and rabbit, strudel and apple pies and country dances. The passing away of Arturo and the Maganzini sisters marked the end of an era. The upper floor of the building was modernised in 1981, while in 1986 the lower floor became the property of the Pizzini family who for the refurbishing made use of the design skills and artistic creativity of Graziano Bortoloso, a former pupil of the great art teacher, Carlo Scarpa.
The Mildas restaurant opened on 26 July in its new guise, after the first and unforgettable experience in Pinzolo where it originated in piazza Collini on 21 July 1966 and subsequently from 1982 to 1986 in the then prestigious Des Alpes in Madonna di Campiglio, the summer residence of the Hapsburgs at the time of Emperor Franz Joseph and Princess Sissi.
The Cider Room
It’s a cosy room with three tables, a chest of drawers and a large mirror from the end of the 1800s.
It is sometimes booked for occasions by groups up to the available seating for 20 people or by families with children.
It was the apple room for the Maganzini families until 1981. As a matter of fact, it was used as a storeroom for the apples picked on their farm from which they made a much used drink at the time: cider. After descending three steps, in the middle of the room there was the granite well for macerating the apples. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the opportunity to see the room in time; otherwise, we would have preserved it as it was.
The winter garden, which the above families cultivated for their food requirements, exploiting the area where the bathroom facilities are currently located, would have been something beautiful, useful and modern to preserve. Other needs have obviously taken precedence in the restructuring work.
The Rabbit Room
This is a private room usually booked by people who want to spend an intimate and confidential evening to celebrate a birthday or maybe a graduation, or for a business meeting.
“A” stands for Ada, Mirko’s mother. The room is furnished, in fact, with her cherry wood furniture dating from the beginning of the 1900s and her large family used to eat at the single table, extendable when necessary to accommodate 10 people.
Ada was a petite woman with a strong character. She had fairy hands and had a masterful way of knowing how to provide for all the needs of her seven children, from clothes to shoes, but most of all, she was a marvellous cook. She could prepare any dish; even her fried eggs were sublime. It’s tempting to compare her to “Babette”, the great cook of the feast and book of the same name. Ada was also an artist; the difference was only in the availability and quality of the raw materials.
This room was called the rabbit room by the Maganzinis: it was where, in fact, the rabbits won at the Carisolo fair by the five cousins, still youngsters at the time, were kept. For them it was an exciting experience and beautiful tradition; it’s a shame for them that when their holidays were over and they had to return to Genoa, the rabbits disappeared unbeknown to them and ended up being roasted, enriching the meals of relatives and friends.
​
​
