• The history

    Back in 1969, everything started with a marriage, such as in the most part of sane italian companies realities.
    Franca and Ortensio, fresh of marriage, back from the honey moon at Limone Piemonte, takes the decision to acquire the bar-trattoria (bar-bistrot) "Italia" in Cerrina Monferrato, small town in the “Monferrato Casalese”.
    Both living in Murisegno, him farmer along with his many brothers insieme, her helper cook in the restaurant of the sister-in-law Lucia, they decide together to give a try at the cooking way.
    No cooking lessons, no cooking schools, only great will to work and a great spirit of sacrifice.

    Earlier years of work weren't dedicated to food service as it's intended today. The bistrot was an hangout and had an important role in the society at the time: everyone went to the bistrot and in the local pub for a card game, play pool or simpy to watch television, because not every family was lucky to have one.

    That's why for decades the restaurant was marginal: the pub was very big and always full of picturesque characters that played cards drinking improbable liquors, smoking cigarettes without filter and arguing with others, while the dining room was smaller and less popular.
    Trying to sell some more bitter and some more coffees it was needed to stay up late, Ortensio was in charge for the evening closure of the locale, meanwhile the wife, after cleaning the kitchen, went upstairs trying to put in bed the young childrens, not a very easy task, due to the very noisy customers that regularly argued for the card game, and screams and shouts didn't ended up until deep night.

    Luckily, in the decades, the cooking ability of miss Franca got better and the locale slowly began to get known in the region as properly restaurant, more and more customers came, even from far places, to taste her bolliti, fritti misti and agnolotti.
    That was why in 1991, husband and wife Rosso, making important structural changes, gave at the restaurant a central place, while the cafe was relegated at a marginal space: no more pools and goodbye to card gamers.

    Today, as it was more that 40 years ago, miss Franca is the pulsing heart of the kitchen, along with her younger son Gian Mario, Ortensio has happily retired and he is now a farmer, taking care of the vegetable garden and searching for truffles; Maurizio, the eldest son, look after administrative tasks while Alessia, Gian Mario's wife, is in charge of the dining room and of course of the cellar, because she is sommelier.

    Bon Appetit.

    Back in 1969, everything started with a marriage, such as in the most part of sane italian companies realities.
    Franca and Ortensio, fresh of marriage, back from the honey moon at Limone Piemonte, takes the decision to acquire the bar-trattoria (bar-bistrot) "Italia" in Cerrina Monferrato, small town in the “Monferrato Casalese”.
    Both living in Murisegno, him farmer along with his many brothers insieme, her helper cook in the restaurant of the sister-in-law Lucia, they decide together to give a try at the cooking way.
    No cooking lessons, no cooking schools, only great will to work and a great spirit of sacrifice.

    Earlier years of work weren't dedicated to food service as it's intended today. The bistrot was an hangout and had an important role in the society at the time: everyone went to the bistrot and in the local pub for a card game, play pool or simpy to watch television, because not every family was lucky to have one.

    That's why for decades the restaurant was marginal: the pub was very big and always full of picturesque characters that played cards drinking improbable liquors, smoking cigarettes without filter and arguing with others, while the dining room was smaller and less popular.
    Trying to sell some more bitter and some more coffees it was needed to stay up late, Ortensio was in charge for the evening closure of the locale, meanwhile the wife, after cleaning the kitchen, went upstairs trying to put in bed the young childrens, not a very easy task, due to the very noisy customers that regularly argued for the card game, and screams and shouts didn't ended up until deep night.

    Luckily, in the decades, the cooking ability of miss Franca got better and the locale slowly began to get known in the region as properly restaurant, more and more customers came, even from far places, to taste her bolliti, fritti misti and agnolotti.
    That was why in 1991, husband and wife Rosso, making important structural changes, gave at the restaurant a central place, while the cafe was relegated at a marginal space: no more pools and goodbye to card gamers.

    Today, as it was more that 40 years ago, miss Franca is the pulsing heart of the kitchen, along with her younger son Gian Mario, Ortensio has happily retired and he is now a farmer, taking care of the vegetable garden and searching for truffles; Maurizio, the eldest son, look after administrative tasks while Alessia, Gian Mario's wife, is in charge of the dining room and of course of the cellar, because she is sommelier.

    Bon Appetit.

    The history

    Back in 1969, everything started with a marriage, such as in the most part of sane italian companies realities.
    Franca and Ortensio, fresh of marriage, back from the honey moon at Limone Piemonte, takes the decision to acquire the bar-trattoria (bar-bistrot) "Italia" in Cerrina Monferrato, small town in the “Monferrato Casalese”.
    Both living in Murisegno, him farmer along with his many brothers insieme, her helper cook in the restaurant of the sister-in-law Lucia, they decide together to give a try at the cooking way.
    No cooking lessons, no cooking schools, only great will to work and a great spirit of sacrifice.

    Earlier years of work weren't dedicated to food service as it's intended today. The bistrot was an hangout and had an important role in the society at the time: everyone went to the bistrot and in the local pub for a card game, play pool or simpy to watch television, because not every family was lucky to have one.

    That's why for decades the restaurant was marginal: the pub was very big and always full of picturesque characters that played cards drinking improbable liquors, smoking cigarettes without filter and arguing with others, while the dining room was smaller and less popular.
    Trying to sell some more bitter and some more coffees it was needed to stay up late, Ortensio was in charge for the evening closure of the locale, meanwhile the wife, after cleaning the kitchen, went upstairs trying to put in bed the young childrens, not a very easy task, due to the very noisy customers that regularly argued for the card game, and screams and shouts didn't ended up until deep night.

    Luckily, in the decades, the cooking ability of miss Franca got better and the locale slowly began to get known in the region as properly restaurant, more and more customers came, even from far places, to taste her bolliti, fritti misti and agnolotti.
    That was why in 1991, husband and wife Rosso, making important structural changes, gave at the restaurant a central place, while the cafe was relegated at a marginal space: no more pools and goodbye to card gamers.

    Today, as it was more that 40 years ago, miss Franca is the pulsing heart of the kitchen, along with her younger son Gian Mario, Ortensio has happily retired and he is now a farmer, taking care of the vegetable garden and searching for truffles; Maurizio, the eldest son, look after administrative tasks while Alessia, Gian Mario's wife, is in charge of the dining room and of course of the cellar, because she is sommelier.

    Bon Appetit.

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