Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing posts from our trip to France and Italy. I hope you all enjoy!
What happens when you send two dairy farmers on vacation? They go visit other dairy farms of course! Nobody can say that we aren’t passionate about dairy farming right?
Italy has a thriving agritourism sector. When Hubs and I started planning our trip we knew we wanted to spend at night at an Italian dairy farm. There are a few sites that will help you find an Italian agritourismo but none of them sorted out the hundreds of options by what the farms grow or raise. After searching the internet for days and looking at hundreds of possibilities, I found Corte Virgiliana and I knew we had to go there!
Now because we weren’t thinking about things that normal people think about like taking photos of our room and instead were focused on all things Italian dairy farm, we have a bit of a gap in the photos. But I’ll give you a quick run down! Our room was actually a small apartment, it was adorable and well furnished. It’s amazing to think that we slept in a room that has been used by royalty! The room rate, which was remarkably cheap included breakfast delivered to our door in the morning and it was a tasty mix of pastry, yogurt and jams.
The only regret we have about our stay at Corte Virgiliana is that we didn’t stay longer. We would have loved to have a chance to talk with the family but they were very busy with harvest just like we were at home. If we ever have the chance to go again, we’ll make sure to stay more than just one night!
The milk from Corte Virgiliana goes to a plant where they make Grana Padano cheese, which is delicious and very similar to Parmesan. With the proximity of Parma, most of the milk in this area is either going to Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese makers.
Mantua was the home of the Gonzaga family. In fact Corte Virgiliana was built by the Ganzaga family in the 14th century. Mantua is surrounded by three man made lakes and is home to many amazing historical buildings. We didn’t have a lot of time in Mantua but we did go out for dinner and did some exploring for a few hours.
If you’re looking to experience life on a dairy farm in Italy, I don’t think there is any better place than Corte Virgiliana!
Beth DeRoos
Love the dairy farms in Italy and France we visit when visiting family and friends and like in my area of California the access to raw milk!! One reason Italian and French food in those areas taste so wonderful! A foodies paradise. Same with Sweden.