Villa Tavallini

While Meredith was here, we stayed five nights at B&B Villa Tavallini (via Benedetto Croce 32, Pollone, 13814, Italy, info@villatavallini.it).  This gem sits on the hillside in Pollone, with views out over the flatlands and Biella below.  It became another magical place for both of us.

Tobia

We were first greeted by Tobia, a much loved dog, rescued from a very bad early home.  Tobia is the alpha dog here, and a hunter.  Gaetano has paid for many chickens and two or three sheep he has never eaten.

Roses in mid-May

The House

The house sits on the hillside above a cobblestoned switchback driveway.  The driveway is lines with lawn, rhododendrons, a magnificent Japanese Maple, and several other gorgeous specimens of trees and shrubbery.  Behind one hedge is a hidden area with many bee hives, carefully managed by a friend of the family, and we received the benefit of those bees' work for breakfast every day.  There are also roses planted along the edge of the gravel patio that produce lovely, scented blooms for the table.

Greta

Tobia bosses two dogs, Greta and Tom.  in the photo above, Greta is guarding the outdoor pizza oven.  Gaetano's brother, Paola, was making small pizza pies in the oven one night when we returned, and we were treated to several slice.  That was some really good pizza.  And very simply made, too.  However, Tobia got hold of the hard cheese, a hunk bigger than my fist, and made off with it.  That topping was no longer available that evening.

Meredith and Tobia in the garden

Biella lies below

The garden is magnificent

Although the location is lovely, and the grounds magnificent, what made it such a magical place was the welcoming of the people who lived there.  When you enter the home, you enter the kitchen, a large room with three meter ceiling, and large windows that open out to the garden and valley below.  The kitchen was, to us, the heart of the home, and Gaetano was the pulse driving the heart.  We had several long chats, and I came to envy the peace he has in his life, and the way he lives his life.  I'm sure I only saw a small part of his life, but I like the approach he has to living.  He is very well grounded.

His brother, Paola, and his mother also live there, as well as seven children (at least part time) and the three dogs.  We were welcomed as though we were just some other family members, shared pictures, told stories, were invited to Paola's daughter Emma's first communion party, and just had a great time.

Gaetano pointed us to two walks, nth of which were great.  One was up at Santuario di Oropa, which we had never found when we stayed there, and the other was through the rhododendrons in Parco Burcina.  Both were really fun, beautiful places, and we would not have found them without being given their location by Gaetano.  He loves to walk, "to move" as he says, and he takes his dogs along (as well as humans) on just about daily walks.  In his words, the walks restore him.  I think that is a beautiful statement.

So we enjoyed our time there, the people there, the dogs there, and the piece of their lives they shared with us.  It was a place to which we could and did retreat after a days' worth of activity, and enjoy good Italian hospitality.