The 2018 brochure of the PDO Riviera Ligure Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Protection Consortium sets out details of the member businesses which operate as Agriturismi. Their common denominator is PDO Riviera Ligure EVO. Located throughout the region, they are linked by passion and commitment to communicate their territory, especially through local gastronomy, to travellers interested in discovering the true soul of Liguria the whole year round. A mission fitting their close relationship with seasonality and rurality.
Located in the hamlet of Verrandi (Ventimiglia), the “Azienda Agricola Lo Scoiattolo” is an Agriturismo run by Federico Aprosio and his whole family. The pleasant traditional cuisine follows the features of the terroir (with a seasonal focus on game). “Lo Scoiattolo” produces DOC Ligurian wines (Rossese and Pigato) and – this goes without saying – PDO Riviera Ligure EVO Riviera Ligure -Riviera dei Fiori from the family’s groves.
Further west, the village of Castellaro (province of Imperia) hosts the Podere Secondo and its “Osteria della Braia”, a temple of regional culinary traditions. The term “Braia” dates back to the 10th century, the age of the Longobardic and Frankish colonisation of the area. It indicates an enclosed tillable plot. The restaurant is located in a historical building, the possession of a noble family, which through time turned first into a bottega, then in the most welcoming of places, run by the Secondo family since 1999. High quality touches show in both dishes and menu, designed around the excellences of the territory and appreciated by guests looking for the taste of history. The Azienda’s PDO Riviera Ligure EVO Riviera Ligure -Riviera dei Fiori is mainly manufactured in the Beiza olive tree region and represents an expression of the most authentic Ligurian spirit.
In the Levante, the “Azienda Agricola La Bilaia” stands in the hills of the town of Lavagna. Chef Paolo Passano is a talent of the regional gourmet scene. Young, skilled, an excellent communicator and an enthusiast by nature, he belongs to a family of restaurateurs (his parents run restaurants in Ecuador). Paolo, who attended the Slow Food University in Pollenzo (CN), has built a virtual bridge between Ligurian and South American cooking traditions. His commitment to rurality shows in his use of ancient local vegetables and premium quality EVO. The groves of the Azienda provide first class lavagnina cultivar and PDO Riviera Ligure EVO Riviera Ligure -Riviera di Levante. The fittest match of Paolo Passano’s re-interpretation of regional gastronomy.
