The Place
As our reporter followed signs to this well-known restaurant, she wondered how there could be anything worthy of inclusion in the middle of an industrial zone wedged between the motorway and a main route through the valley. She changed her mind upon seeing the 500- year-old farmhouse on a hill above the road, camouflaged by an apple orchard and a large cherry tree dripping with ripe fruit. Wooden roof tiles cover the wine press and stone fireplace in the former granary, while water trickles from a fountain into a horsetrough. With potted geraniums and strawberry plants, she half expected a menu of rustic food. Instead, she discovered one of the region’s most inventive kitchens, where chef Matteo Cereghini delights his guests with Mediterranean and local flavours.
Upstairs, memories of old Ticino are revived with floral-patterned bedspreads brightening the four bedrooms, which have white walls, dark, old beams and decorative wrought iron. ‘Not the place for a week’s holiday, but a delightful overnight after a gourmet dinner’ was her judgement.