Branding is just not a precedence at I Casali del Pino, the gorgeous sprawling farm inside the protected inexperienced space of Parco di Veio, just a few miles north of Rome. There isn’t any seen indication that two members of the third era of the Fendi household are so dedicated to the property that they’ve restored and transformed it into an natural farm. Strolling across the property, it’s clear that it is a ardour challenge of sisters Silvia and Ilaria Venturini Fendi.
“We by no means needed to attach our title to the farm; we now have nice respect for the model, it isn’t solely the title of our household,” says Silvia Venturini Fendi, sitting within the shade of the majestic bushes dotting the big garden exterior the restaurant.
Her sister recollects the primary time she stumbled upon the property in 2004 and the way she utterly modified her life to pursue its acquisition and restoration. “After I noticed it, I knew this was it. I used to be all the time enthusiastic about nature and life within the outdoor; our father [Giulio Venturini] was the identical, rising up within the nation in a wildlife farm in Rieti [near Rome]. There was little doubt in my thoughts that I needed to have it, however then I needed to persuade Silvia,” Ilaria admits with a smile.
And so she did, and neither one is trying again regardless of the challenges — and investments — they confronted to revive the landmark website, which is protected for its pure and historic worth.
A view of the property at I Casali del Pino.
“Ilaria was a little bit of a tomboy as a baby, wild and with a ardour for canines, and maybe due to her bronchial asthma she was all the time happier out within the nation,” says Silvia.
In actual fact, you’re certain to search out Ilaria’s rescued canine following her wherever she goes — fittingly, the pet is named Ombra, or “Shadow.”
The connection between the siblings is powerful and the 2 spend a lot time collectively and with their prolonged households. Silvia and Ilaria are the daughters of Anna Fendi, and granddaughters of matriarch Adele Casagrande Fendi, who launched the household model in 1925 by opening a fur and leather-based items workshop in Rome together with her husband Edoardo Fendi. Anna Fendi — alongside together with her sisters Paola, Carla, Franca and Alda — helped develop and broaden the enterprise. Silvia is creative director of equipment and menswear collections at Fendi, and her daughters Delfina Delettrez and Leonetta Luciano are additionally concerned within the firm, as jewellery inventive director and answerable for sustainability, respectively.
“After we bought the model to LVMH [Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton], I made a decision that it was time to reevaluate life’s values,” recollects Ilaria.
Silvia and Ilaria Venturini Fendi and the loyal Ombra.
Andrea Pilia
After working as equipment inventive director of the Fendissime younger line and as Fendi’s shoe designer, she launched her personal Carmina Campus assortment in 2006, which mirrored her dedication to sustainability, extremely crafted, and using solely reused and recycled supplies. “The tempo had been too quick, I wanted to decelerate,” says Ilaria.
To make certain, it’s exhausting to consider anybody may very well be careworn at I Casali del Pino, with its rows of pine bushes and gentle hills, the place flocks of round 800 sheep roam freely. The Fendi sisters transformed the land into natural farming, which entailed permitting the terrain to “relaxation” for 3 years, and conservatively restored the buildings within the hamlet, most of which had been in ruins, with out disrupting the panorama.
The farm spans over 430 acres, and barley and different grains are grown on website. “We’re centered on native, zero-kilometer produce,” says Ilaria, who has studied to change into an agricultural entrepreneur. “However I proceed to check, there isn’t any finish to studying,” she says merely.
Crops are rotated and pesticides and chemical compounds are banned. Giant parts of the farm are left uncultivated and are lined by woods.
There’s an in-house cheese-making facility the place the sheep’s milk is processed, and the farm’s merchandise can be found for buy on website, together with pasta made with the farm’s personal flour. Aperitifs and trays of cheese and different native items, together with honey, are served there. Reflecting the Fendis’ option to cater domestically, merchandise are additionally accessible at close by eating places.
A view of the sheep and the hills at I Casali del Pino.
The Crémera stream flows in a slender valley on the farm with vegetation and fauna typical of the Roman countryside, the place foxes, wild boar and pheasants will be noticed. A big arch carved in native stone, relationship again to Etruscan occasions, marks the traditional route from Veio, capital of the Etruscan kingdom, to Rome.
Earlier than their arrival the agricultural hamlet — a former tobacco plantation that dates again to the sixteenth century and a cattle breeding farm from the early 1900s — was in disarray, together with the two-level constructing that when housed the properties of the farm’s employees and their households. It has been restored to include 16 rooms, every customized with totally different flooring utilizing recycled tiles and interiors, and classic and trendy items along with objects created by Ilaria. The constructing serves as a resort for visitors, whereas there’s a separate constructing for the household.
The one modern fashion launched within the restoration had been three photo voltaic chimneys added to a former secure that has been became a multifunctional corridor for giant occasions, together with FloraCult, a yearly, four-day plant and flower present that takes place on the finish of April.
The photo voltaic chimneys of the multifunctional corridor.
Launched 15 years in the past, the competition brings collectively greater than 130 Italian nurseries “and attracts 1000’s of tourists who need to rediscover nature,” says Ilaria proudly. “The aim is selling the love of inexperienced life as a cultural assertion, supporting sustainability and the safety of the surroundings.”
“Talks with distinguished researchers, astronauts, mathematicians, philosophers, geologists are held all through the occasion to sort out the topic of sustainability, and folks meet to alternate ideas and share values,” provides Silvia. “We thought it was necessary to share this place with others.”
The photo voltaic chimneys assist scale back the vitality consumption of the construction, and so they operate as greenhouses in winter and as wind towers in summer season, by way of a system of followers that convey the recent air upward.
I Casali del Pino
The constructing has additionally change into the primary restaurant of the farm, the place natural components are employed and native merchandise used as a lot as potential, together with greens from the farm’s backyard, ricotta and different cheeses produced in-house, selfmade pasta, almond and wine cookies. Fruit from the orchard is became jams.
There’s additionally a smaller restaurant accessible for occasions, seating as much as 80 individuals, and comfortable with a giant fire. Close by, a wine choice by Anna Fendi, who promotes small and medium-sized vineyards, is accessible. In one other private challenge, she has additionally refurbished the storied Villa Laetitia on the Tiber river in Rome, turning it into an unique resort.
Pointing to a different constructing that also exhibits the passing of time and that hasn’t been restored, the sisters say they’re not sure about renovating it.
“There are lots of nests of storks there, and we don’t need to destroy them,” says Ilaria.
Equally, they’re uncertain about constructing a pool or a spa, as they want to preserve the agricultural really feel of the placement.
“I’m not certain I need to see individuals wandering round in bathrobes,” says Silvia with a small snicker.
One of many rooms at I Casali del Pino.