Roncolo 1888 – nature and luxury meet in a boutique resort in Emilia-Romagna

Collaboration with Roncolo 1888 & Venturini Baldini.

Located in Italy between Parma and Reggio Emilia, Roncolo 1888 is a newly renovated boutique resort of Venturini Baldini winery offering tranquility and luxury surrounded by vineyards. Relaxed atmosphere, stunning interior and excellent food and wine – the resort is an experience for all senses.

The story of Roncolo 1888 dates back to early `500 when it was a residence for noble families of the Marquis Fontanelli, the Counts Galliani, the Counts Ancini, and finally in the 18th century of the Marquis Manodori, governor of Reggio Emilia. Today, after a long renovating process the residence is back to its previous charm, and we all are welcome to spend a beautiful holiday at the Roncolo 1888 relais and its La Limonaia restaurant and Venturini Baldini winery.

The Relais is situated around the Villa Manodori and its gardens. The rooms of the newly renovated villa are elegant and chic.

I chose to have a little holiday in the region of Emilia-Romagna because I was longing for something idyllic and calm. I invited my friend Elena for a relaxing girls trip together with me.

Arriving at Roncolo 1888 is a stunning experience in itself: driving up to the hills of Canossa Land you see streets lined with cypresses and beautiful views overlooking the city of Reggio Emilia.

Roncolo 1888, located up on the hills was so quiet and calm: only cicadas singing and bees buzzing in the flower fields. Felt like all the stress melted away immediately.

Roncolo 1888 is the perfect retreat for lovers, but also ideal for a girl’s trip: as soon as we arrived, we found ourselves at the pool swimming, having a glass of sparkling and swimming again. We were totally obsessed with the beautiful pool area, and we could easily spend there the whole day since lunch, snacks and cocktails were served there as well.

A pool, a good book and a cocktail make a perfect summer day.

Emilia-Romagna is famous for its wines like Lambrusco and Pignoletto, and in the evening it was time for winetasting. Venturini Baldini´s agricultural estate was founded in 1976. The 130-hectare estate comprises 30 hectares of vineyards located in the hills reaching an altitude of 370 meters providing an excellent microclimate to grow vines.

Venturini Baldini has an impressive selection of whites, reds and sparkling – all organic. Their signature T.E.R.S. -wines are a must-try. They are a true interpretation of their territory: historical vines of their land made at the same time with innovative and traditional winemaking methods.

My favourites were also their traditional balsamic vinegars from Reggio Emilia DOP and olive oils made of their own trees of an ancient cultivar called Montelocco. Venturini Baldini organizes tasting experiences for their wines, balsamic vinegars and olive oils – a perfect gift for a food lover.

If you don´t have the chance to visit Roncolo 1888 or Venturini Baldini, you can order their products online. I already stocked a few products to pamper my family and friends. These flavours will also bring sweet memories of the holiday into my mind.

The next day I wanted to wake up early together with nature. It was absolutely adorable to walk in the sunrise through vineyards listening to birds singing. As a city girl in the countryside, it is always sweet and funny to let the sound of a rooster wake you up.

After the little walk in the vineyard, we were pampered with a delicious Italian breakfast served in the garden of Roncolo 1888.

Buongiorno! Breakfast with delicious Italian cappuccino in the garden.

Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, Parma ham and tortellini pasta – the traditional cuisine of Emilia-Romagna is full of delicious flavours. We enjoyed lunches and dinners at Roncolo 1888´s beautiful gourmet-restaurant La Limonaia. The restaurant led by chef Mario Comitale offers seasonal menus reflecting the traditions of Emilia-Romagna, made mostly of local ingredients. Even though the regional cuisine has quite a lot of meat, I was very happy that even my vegan needs were filled: I was spoiled with La Limonaia’s version of gazpacho soup and carrot mousse with pickled carrots, parsley sauce and fried pumpkin flowers paired with Venturini Baldini´s wines – pure indulgement!

After dinner, we went to the garden of Venturini Baldini winery to enjoy some culture. I love how the winery gets very creative when organizing events: this time we were lucky to participate in the Roncolo Theater Festival organized in collaboration with Venturini Baldini. The vineyard was, oh, so perfect setting for the evening’s play, William Shakespeare´s A Midsummer Night´s Dream.

Another great event was Mercoledi Rosé (meaning rosé wine-Wednesday), a stylish event hosted by Venturini Baldini in the middle of their vineyard. Locals and us visitors gathered together to enjoy music, pizza and Venturini Baldini´s wines on a warm Italian summer evening – I think a holiday can´t get much better than this!

Lunch becomes perfect when it´s paired with a glass of Venturini Baldini´s spumante rosato, Cadelvento.

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For more information and bookings, please contact Roncolo 1888 by phone or email:

Via Filippo Turati, 42,
42020 Quattro Castella (RE), Italia

+39 0522 249011

info@venturinibaldini.it
www.venturinibaldini.it

Text and pictures by Hertta Hiltunen. Portraits by Elena Corradini.