X
Our history
X
5 generations of history
What I am going to tell you is the story of a dream realized, of the passion for one’s own land, but above all is a great Love story.
WELCOME TO VIGNOLA’S HOME
What I am going to tell you is the story of a dream realized, of the passion for one’s own land, but above all is a great Love story.
It all began in the summer of the now distant 1985, more precisely on the 10th of August, when I, a young man who had returned home after various work experiences abroad, met Maria Antonietta during a village festival. It was love at first sight, and we married a few years later, on September 13, 1989. At that time we were early twenties, but with very clear ideas in our minds. Together we decided to join the SCAU (Servizio per i Contributi Agricoli Unificati – Service for Unified Agricultural Contributions).
After a few years of apprenticeship in the restaurant field, far from home, and after the birth of our first son Francesco Lorenzo, we took the decision to return permanently to Marsico Nuovo, and to take over and run the decennial family company Vignola. Combining the passion for our territory and my passion for cooking, we decided to give a turn to the Large farm’s tradition, undertaking the road of multi-functionality as well as multisectorality and diversification.
What I am going to tell you is the story of a dream realized, of the passion for one’s own land, but above all is a great Love story.
It all began in the summer of the now distant 1985, more precisely on the 10th of August, when I, a young man who had returned home after various work experiences abroad, met Maria Antonietta during a village festival. It was love at first sight, and we married a few years later, on September 13, 1989. At that time we were early twenties, but with very clear ideas in our minds. Together we decided to join the SCAU (Servizio per i Contributi Agricoli Unificati – Service for Unified Agricultural Contributions). After a few years of apprenticeship in the restaurant field, far from home, and after the birth of our first son Francesco Lorenzo, we took the decision to return permanently to Marsico Nuovo, and to take over and run the decennial family company Vignola. Combining the passion for our territory and my passion for cooking, we decided to give a turn to the Large farm’s tradition, undertaking the road of multi-functionality as well as multisectorality and diversification.
With the support of our parents and the approval of the Grandmother Maddalena (“Nonna Linuccia”) we renovated the family farmhouse, obtaining a kitchen, a restaurant and some rooms to accommodate our customers.
Overcoming obstacles, bureaucratic quibbles and endless difficulties, we finally managed to open our Farmhouse’s doors on the 21st of September 1994, shortly after the birth of our second daughter Simona.
Since the beginning, our only constant is the direct link between the company and the restaurant, bringing to the table our agricultural products and meat from livestock bred by us, in full respect of nature; indeed, from the first moment the agriculture we practise is ORGANIC, ensuring seasonal products of the highest quality and authenticity.
In parallel with the history of the company, the family history has also gone forward: in 1999 was born Manila, and in 2005, Biagio.
In the same year, we finally managed to complete another project, a dream that became reality only after many sacrifices. In fact, we opened our riding school “Le Sorgive Ranch”, since we wanted to bring that world that until then was considered elitist, within the reach of everyone. Today it is a place of learning but, above all, a meeting place for children and young people, and a parenthesis of tranquility for anyone who wants to take a break from the daily routine, surrounded by the most authentic nature.
We started with a lot of enthusiasm, although with great caution, but fortunately our efforts were immediately appreciated: in effect, thanks to the good response from customers, we decided to expand restaurant and kitchen, and also to make a restyling of the entire place; internal and external spaces have undergone many changes over time, the most important of which concern the creation of various green areas and gardens, and the construction of a gazebo, which has become a place very versatile and requested by customers as an ideal location for aperitifs and outdoor lunches and dinners.
Last Christmas we also inaugurated a lounge for guests: a warm and welcoming environment, ideal for hosting small conferences and intimate parties.
Excellence on the territory
Continuously updated to keep pace with the times, but without forgetting our origins and traditions of the past
- A family-run company that has always been
- Built on the old Vignola farmhouse
- Not just customers, but guests at our home
In 2012, we were pleased to welcome the desire of our son Francesco to take over the reins of the company, and today he is the one who takes care of the agricultural side of Vignola, often followed by Biagio who, between his school commitments, finds the time to dabble between the restaurant and the countryside, demonstrating, although young, a great responsibility and industriousness.
And while Simona has continued her school career (choosing, however, a faculty inherent to our profession), Manila has become my right-hand partner in the kitchen: although she has a certain inclination towards a less conventional, more academic type of gastronomy, we have equally found a proper balance between our methods, between tradition and innovation.
I like, in fact, to tell about Lucania through its typical folkloric dishes, using only fresh and genuine ingredients, provided by our company or by other local companies that have the same way of doing things as we do: a homemade cuisine, simple, with no frills, hearty and abundant; the same cuisine made of dishes that we find on family tables on Sundays, where handmade pasta, cheeses, lamb, vegetables and home desserts are a must. The food we offer is nourishment for body and soul, it is “comfort food”, the kind of food that makes you totally feel good and does not simply appease your hunger. I inherited the customs of family mothers and grandmothers, when “eating” was a moment of conviviality, and the colors, flavors and smells of the dishes prepared involved all the senses even before being tasted. From those lunches, or dinners, we would certainly leave full, but every time with a new baggage of perceptions and knowledge.
It must be said that today it is necessary to follow also new trends, in order to satisfy an increasingly exigent clientele. Alongside the traditional dishes such as “strascinati”, ravioli or lamb “arraganat”, we have added some novelties that bring a breath of freshness and originality compared with our customs.
Despite these minor image changes, our substance remains the same: we try to offer the maximum quality and abundance at the maximum convenience. The profit has never been our priority, we prefer rather to invest, to improve, always. A lot has been done in more than twenty years of experience, but there is still a lot to do. Ideas, projects, dreams, are slowly materializing under our hands, bringing this small reality to be a reference point at a regional level, and not only. At the moment, we are building more rooms to accommodate our guests, as well as an expansion of the kitchen to implement a processing and food preservation laboratory; we are working on structural adjustments in order to eliminate architectural barriers where any are present; we are increasing our agricultural company of different livestock species, and different crops, in order to be, in a not very distant future, a 100% “self-sustaining” reality.
This is us, since four generations. With the hope of continuing to be so, always improving, for a long time to come.
Giuseppe Bruno
4 Generations
A family
Maria Antonietta
Giuseppe
Francesco
Francesca
Francesco’s partner and mother of their two children, when required she collaborates in the kitchen, especially in the preparation of homemade and traditional desserts, her great passion. She is in charge of marketing and image of the company.
Simona
Manila
Biagio
