La fattoria Little Italy: Little Italy in the Tver region. Italian farm in Medny (Tver region)
To taste the freshest, freshly prepared Italian cheeses, it is not necessary to go to Italy. There is a closer alternative: Italian cheese farm La Fattoria Little Italy in the village of Mednoye in the Tver region, near Torzhok.
This Italian farm is not only in words. Its owner is really an Italian, Pietro Mazza, who married a Russian girl a few years ago and came to Russia to make cheese. So this cheese story is really romantic, because it started with love.
Pietro himself is a native of the Calabria region, and he grew up in a family of cheese makers, so probably everyone knows about the production process. And he brings his knowledge to life: cheeses are made here in exactly the same way as a hundred years ago in his native Italy. And this means that they are all absolutely natural, with a very short shelf life, and therefore you cannot buy farm products in supermarkets. Especially in order to keep the production environmentally friendly, the Mazza family keeps their own herd of several hundred heads.
By the way, the farm is located on the territory of a former collective farm, which Mazza bought in the 1990s in an almost dead state. Frankly, outwardly the farm continues to give the impression of the same collective farm, with old equipment and sloppy buildings. But do not rush to be disappointed, because inside, in a large tasting room, decorated with antique restored furniture, Italy is already felt.
In such a completely authentic environment, tastings of cheeses that are not produced on the farm are held. In total, there are 19 varieties in production, but 9 varieties are presented for tasting - both young and aged; The guide will tell the guests about each of them. In the same room, an Italian lunch is served (of course, from local products, but according to traditional recipes), if you wish, you can also order wine.
In addition to the celebration of the belly and acquaintance with culinary traditions Calabria, guests of the farm can walk around its territory and look at the mini-zoo. You should not expect any discoveries: it is indeed very “mini”, and, perhaps, its most interesting inhabitants are ostriches and horses. If you like cheeses (and you can't help but love them!), you should look into the local shop and buy a few pieces to go.
For those who wish, master classes are held where you can learn how to cook one of the easiest Italian cheeses to cook - ricotta. Master classes are organized only for groups of 8 people, so if you want to feel like a cheese maker, gather your friends
And the farm in the village of Mednoe is “agrotourismo”. This term in Italy is called farms that invite guests not only to dine and walk around the farm, but also to live in rooms, breathe fresh air, improve health natural food. All this is available at the cheese farm - cozy rooms, breakfast from homemade products. There is only no TV and the Internet - not at all because of the greed of the owners, but only so that guests can disconnect from the outside world and enjoy life, as the Italians know how to do.
How to get there, map
From Moscow you need to go along the Leningradskoye highway, without stopping at Tver. At the 194th kilometer - turn to the village of Mednoe (to the left), in it on the way to the monument to those who died in the Great Patriotic War. From the monument - about 1.5 km along the left road to a concrete wall and an iron gate with a sign saying that there is a reception room of a certain deputy. You don't have to be scared, you're here. Not at the reception, but at the gate :)
N 056 55.433, E 035 26.876
You need to book tastings, excursions, master classes in advance by calling the numbers listed on the official website of the Italian farm in Medny.
May 9, Saturday. 1 day. Our path continues towards the village of Mednoye in the Tver region, where we were very interested in an Italian farm, where a real Italian has been producing original Italian cheeses for many years.
But there was another reason to look into this place: one of my friends recently learned that her grandfather, who died during the Great Patriotic War and considered missing, was buried in mass grave Mednoye village in the Tver region. Of course, we decided to support her and together honor the memory of all the fallen soldiers. Moreover, today the corresponding date is May 9th.
14.20 . We drove 285 km in a day. In the morning, on the way, we stopped at a wonderful place: where we walked along the old temple complex to the sound of bells and even witnessed a small miracle.
After that, we continued our route along the M10 highway through Tver and soon turned towards the village of Mednoe. After a few kilometers, passing by a rural temple,
We saw a memorial to fallen soldiers during the Great Patriotic War.
It was located right at the fork in the road, it was impossible to drive past.
It was a very touching moment when our Katya saw the name of her grandfather in the list of dead soldiers, whose fate and place of burial was not known for more than 70 years!
Of course, with great gratitude, we remembered not only those who died here during the bloody battles, but also those volunteers who still, after so many decades, are looking for and finding the remains of the fighters. And after that, with honor, they betray them to the ground.
What a blessing that many "missing" regain their name, and their descendants can restore the history of their kind and know where the graves of their ancestors are.
There was a festive atmosphere all around. Villagers carried flowers to the memorial of fallen soldiers. Nearby were posters with photographs of veterans and short story about their fate. Pupils of local schools designed a stand with their drawings, dedicated to the Day Victory.
And life was in full swing around: nature was waking up after a winter sleep. The birds sang with might and main, a light breeze swayed the pale green leaves of the birches, which looked like airy lace against the blue sky.
The scent of flowers pervaded the area. Oh, how nice it is in spring!
Where is the Italian farm?
How to get to the cheese farm - this question remained relevant. As usual, there were no signs on the road. We had a printout from the internet with strange identifying marks, and it helped!
So, in order to get to the Italian farm “Little Italy”, you need to take the left road from the fork near the memorial to the fallen soldiers (the right one leads to the bridge, we then returned to the highway along it). On the left is a concrete fence. After about 200 meters, there will be an iron gate on the left, next to them is a sign "Public reception of the deputy." As it turned out, this “deputy” accepts everyone. You can and should safely enter the territory, there will be parking on the right. We arrived!
Surrounding us were gray concrete buildings,
a wooden hayloft, a little in the distance there were a couple of village houses.
And there is no one around! Picture from the series "We didn't expect!" 😛
Well, this is not surprising. To get to the farm, look at the economy and production, you must call in advance and arrange an excursion to the Italian farm. We decided not to do this, as our program was already very intense. Therefore, we went to the "maybe": we will still be there, so we'll see what we can see.
Pietro Mazza and Little Italy
It all started in 1999, when the Italian Pietro Mazza came to Russia to meet the parents of his future Russian wife Zhanna. And this trip became a turning point in his life. He did not want to return to his homeland, but decided to arrange for himself a piece of Little Italy on Russian soil.
And what could a hereditary cheese maker do? Of course, the production of cheese. This is how the Italian cheese farm "Little Italy" was born.
It all started very difficult. Pietro had to learn new professions: build buildings and make furniture himself. Yes, and with the sale of products at first it was problematic. But gradually, with the development of the economy, the idea came to invite not only buyers, but also lovers of agritourism and other travelers to visit.
In this direction, things went much better. Now the Italian and his Russian wife have a huge farm, consisting of more than 1000 heads of cattle, which live and graze in different corners Tver region, mainly in the Torzhok and Selizharovsky districts.
All cheese production is carried out only using natural and environmentally friendly products. And the cheeses are made using old Italian techniques that are over 100 years old.
WITH organized tour you can see other inhabitants of the farm: horses and cows of different breeds, ponies, wild boars, goats, sheep and even ostriches. All the inhabitants of the farm are allowed to be fed with special food. And those who wish can ride horses.
After a tour of the farm and stables, travelers are invited to taste a cheese plate. And then you can order lunch at the restaurant. And after such a "holiday of the belly" there is an opportunity to stay here for the night at the inn.
Russian cheeses at Italian prices
There were signs outside the parking lot that said, Tasting room". We went in the indicated direction and ended up in a large restaurant. In the hall we were met by a huge stove.
In the corner was a real carriage.
And the huge hall of the restaurant was guarded by an evil step! 😆
Quite deserted inside. But it was clear that the Pietro Mazza cheese factory was counting on grandiose receptions for visiting tourists and fans of agritourism.
The rows of set tables spoke very eloquently of this.
In addition to us, there were several visitors in the restaurant hall who were not embarrassed by the prices for the dishes. According to our provincial notions, for the price of one plate of spaghetti with local cheese, you can buy several kilograms of pasta, after which you can easily and satisfyingly live for several days. But, as they say, the taste and color ...
Inside, the atmosphere is very cozy, the hall is wonderfully planned and decorated. Many paintings, items of Russian household utensils.
In the depths there is a wonderful family cow idyll: a contented mother cow with a small calf and another cow who entertains them.
It’s just that in my understanding, instead of a cow, there should have been a responsible and serious bull-dad. Well, here the local professionals who deal with animals, as they say, know better what cow's happiness is. 🙂
Tasting in Russian
Near the entrance to the tasting room and restaurant is a shop where you can buy a huge variety of natural dairy products. Prices are quite high, but what can stop real connoisseurs of natural and quality products? Something stopped us… Probably, we are not so amateurs. 🙂
If you are interested, you can evaluate the showcase in the photo yourself (the picture can be enlarged). All prices are per piece (not per kilogram) in May 2015.
Having seen enough of the Russian-overseas sights, they realized that no one canceled the lunch time. Therefore, we went to the backyard of an Italian farm to spread our own self-assembled tablecloth.
How nice it is to sit on the grass under the warm spring sun, from which we have so unaccustomed during hibernation.
What is white in the distance? Oh miracle! A real milk river flows here! Apparently, the remnants of production merge here, which forms a normal stream.
True, the fabulous option does not work here. There are no kissel shores at all. Yes, and milk in the river can also only be in a fairy tale, but in our familiar world it turns sour very quickly and acquires an appropriate smell. But in the photo, everything looks almost fabulous. 😆
Refreshed, we moved on. After all, two more wonderful towns in the Tver region were waiting for us today: Znamenskoye with a delightful eighteenth-century manor "Rayok" and Vasilevo, where unique museum wooden architecture under open sky.
1. Guide Olya with representatives of the farm's numerous living creatures.
I went to the village of Mednoye, near Tver, where the Italian Pietro Mazza with his Russian wife Zhanna and daughter Jessica founded a farm for the production of Italian cheeses, implemented according to the concept - agrotourism. Impression, frankly, is not unambiguous.
On the one hand, there is respect for a person who, in a foreign country that does not have reasonable rules to support small businesses, and, in fact, rules in general, was able to organize and develop his business. On the other hand, the territory of the farm, which is a classic example of a dilapidated state farm with a pile of Soviet equipment standing in the open air, with the same nondescript outbuildings, causes some bewilderment. And even the tasting room reconstructed from the former production hall, ala Italy, does not correct the impression of this surrealism. I couldn’t find anything to catch my eye to take a title photo that captures the idea and spirit of an Italian farm, so I placed a charming guide Olya with representatives of the local, cool, dog pack that accompanies us around the farm.
If earlier all this was not important, because the owners themselves received guests, and even, probably, a conversation with a former Italian policeman and a hereditary cheese maker against the backdrop of the scenery of late socialism added some piquancy, but today, when instead of hosts guests are received by a charming guide Olya, this causes some misunderstanding, from where you got.
I personally went thinking to see a neat farm, which I saw a lot in Europe, to observe the process of cheese making, to see the storage of cheeses, to see the process of making famous Italian smoked meats, to breathe in the spirit of an Italian farm. Instead there was a lunch of dishes Italian cuisine with a cheese tasting while watching a film about how it is made, and a walk around the farm, where, along with horses and ponies familiar to the modern Moscow region, only an ostrich and a wild boar stood out. Of course, I accept the guide's explanation that what I want to see is not possible from the point of view of sanitation, but, alas, from this understanding, the impressions of visiting the farm do not improve. Moreover, you understand that if you wish, everything can be organized, for example, by dividing some areas that require sterility with glass.
Nevertheless, I would like to wish the owners of the farm good luck in business development and express hope for further expansion. excursion program.
2. The gates are greeted with an inscription of the reception of a State Duma deputy, who is no longer a deputy, and no longer works in the Tver region.
3. Tasting room of the farm for 200 people.
4. Italian souvenirs, a small museum.
5. Ostrich - one of the inhabitants of the minizoo.
6. Kabaniha - another representative wildlife at the mini zoo.
7. Hotel under construction.
