My Houzz: A Family’s Rustic Refuge for Travelers in the Italian Alps
High up in the Dolomites, a mountain dairy farm and restaurant offer up old-fashioned hospitality, memories and tranquillity
Animals, nature, old-world values — at Malga Canali in the Italian Alps, two generations of mountain women open the doors to their home. Stepping into the house, you’re surrounded by wood — not to mention the constantly-in-use cooking utensils, as these mother-daughter hosts prepare meals for their visitors. The family’s everyday life at the alpine dairy farm, restaurant and home in the Dolomites is driven by commitment, tenacity and a lot of love for this splendid place, whose identity they work to preserve.
The light that turns the majestic mountains pink reflects on the green of the vast lawn of the malga, where Rita and Lucia, Gianna’s daughters, love to relax a bit between lunch and dinner, often accompanied by their children.
At Malga Canali, the work is intense: During the summer, the agriturismo (a farmhouse used for tourism) is swamped with visitors, who reserve in advance to enjoy the soups, sausages, polenta and especially the tosela, a cooking cheese typical of the region.
At Malga Canali, the work is intense: During the summer, the agriturismo (a farmhouse used for tourism) is swamped with visitors, who reserve in advance to enjoy the soups, sausages, polenta and especially the tosela, a cooking cheese typical of the region.
Gianna and her daughters prepare dishes using wholesome ingredients. Some of these, like the milk and eggs, come straight from the little farm at the malga.
Those who come to eat here, and who know the philosophy of Gianna, know that soft drinks and dried pasta won’t be part of the picture. “We only offer products typical of our territory, and there is no menu,” she says. “The dishes that we prepare change with the seasons. More than once I’ve had to send away a guest annoyed that we didn’t have Coke.”
Those who come to eat here, and who know the philosophy of Gianna, know that soft drinks and dried pasta won’t be part of the picture. “We only offer products typical of our territory, and there is no menu,” she says. “The dishes that we prepare change with the seasons. More than once I’ve had to send away a guest annoyed that we didn’t have Coke.”
At Malga Canali, you live according to nature. Coming here means discovering the spirit of the malga. It’s not quite like going to a restaurant — it’s more like entering with kindness into the life of Gianna and her small mountain farm.
In the cow stalls, an aquarium houses a little family of goldfish.
In 1957, when Gianna was only 3 months old, her parents brought her to Malga Canali in a fruit box. Later, her father decided to teach her — the youngest of three sisters — to manage a business that was, in those days, typically run by men.
As a girl, Gianna learned to chop wood and gather hay, take care of the animals, make cheese and cook.
In 1957, when Gianna was only 3 months old, her parents brought her to Malga Canali in a fruit box. Later, her father decided to teach her — the youngest of three sisters — to manage a business that was, in those days, typically run by men.
As a girl, Gianna learned to chop wood and gather hay, take care of the animals, make cheese and cook.
The agriturismo was born 30 years ago, when Gianna decided to give an identity to the place she had always called simply a “refuge.”
The malga is, in fact, the refuge of shepherds, a place between mountain pastures where they regain their strength with a plate of polenta and cheese.
The malga is, in fact, the refuge of shepherds, a place between mountain pastures where they regain their strength with a plate of polenta and cheese.
The spaces where Gianna, Rita and Lucia live and work have been furnished by Gianna with love. All the objects that decorate the kitchen and other rooms go back to her childhood and memories of her parents.
Hung from the wall are ladles, pots, pictures, tiles and old tools.
Hung from the wall are ladles, pots, pictures, tiles and old tools.
In keeping with her philosophy of reuse and repurposing, Gianna made a wall lamp out of an old hunting trophy.
On the trunk of a big maple tree, Gianna posted a nursery rhyme by Roberto Piumini that’s dear to her: “As these verses recite, children must grow up free to run and to play outside, to savor from an early age the beauty of nature.”
Gianna and her husband sleep at Malga Canali during the summer. Rita and Lucia, who have two and three children, respectively, commute from Siror, the closest town, and sometimes stay over.
This bedroom on the second floor features more memorabilia. Next door is a smaller room for guests and grandchildren, available whenever they want to stay over at their grandparents’ house.
“By now, I don’t have any space left to decorate in here,” Gianna says. “Every centimeter of the malga is full of objects that represent our life in this beautiful place, where we get up at the first light of dawn and we go to bed with the first stars.”
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My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
Browse more homes by style:
Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes| Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Who lives here: Maria Giovanna “Gianna” Tavernaro; her husband; daughters Rita and Lucia Cemin; and, in summer, her grandchildren
Location: Val Canali, a valley near the towns of Siror and Tonadico, in the Italian province of Trento; the area is surrounded by the Pala range in the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Size: About 1,075 square feet (100 square meters) on two floors
Year built: 1935
In the Trentino mountains of Primiero, in Italy’s Canali Valley, Gianna Tavernaro cultivates her happiness every day. She’s lived almost since birth in a charming malga, a mostly stone-and-wood hut typical of the Alps that serves as a refuge for shepherds during the summer months. For Gianna, Malga Canali is a treasure trove of memories and memorabilia that has become special also for the tourists and mountain climbers who pass through.