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Farm Stay Italy

We are a young Anglo-Italian family who love meeting people from all over the world and introducing them to life on and around our little farmstead. We welcome backpackers, campers and all independent travellers who want to see, hear, touch, smell and of course taste an authentic slice of the Italian countryside.

Our farm is located on the sunny, south-facing side of a valley in the foothills of the Apennines. It is just three kilometres south of the Via Emilia, originally a Roman road, between Bologna and Imola. This unique corner of the Emilia Romagna region offers beautiful views across fields of grapevines and fruit trees, and up to the medieval, walled hilltop village of Dozza.

Our family-run farm is set on 1.5 hectares, or 3.7 acres, of land, much of which is planted with Sangiovese grapevines. We also have cherry, apricot, fig, walnut and olive trees and a varied vegetable plot that provides us with lettuce, spinach, strawberries, onions, garlic, peas, beans, tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, peppers, aubergines and melons at different times during the year.
The farm animals include up to 10 head of beef cattle for our own consumption and sale, a few goats and chickens and a couple of pigs for most of the year. We have two pet dogs and a yard cat too.
We aim to be as self-sufficient as we can and wherever possible meals are made using our own meat, vegetables, eggs and fruit, and served with red wine produced from our grapes. Any produce we do not use ourselves is sold to friends and acquaintances. Guests may also purchase our wine or homemade preserves subject to availability.

Sleeping and Eating:

- Shared room: A large room with three single beds (two of which can be combined to make a double), with its own en-suite bathroom. Also includes tea and coffee-making facilities, a mini-fridge, community bookshelf and tourist information. This room is located on the ground floor in our recently constructed extension.
- Double room: A comfortable room with a large double bed and stunning views across the valley. Use of the separate bathroom is shared with the family. This room is located on the first floor of the main house.
- Camping: You can pitch your tent or park up your camper van on a grassed area behind the house.

A breakfast of cereals, sweet treats or toast with homemade jam and local honey, plus tea or coffee, is included in our nightly rates. Lunch and dinner are available for an extra fee and are eaten with the family – meals consist of typical, home-cooked Italian dishes made with fresh, local ingredients, from the farm wherever possible.

What to do:

- DOZZA - From the farm it is a short walk up to the village of Dozza where you can find a friendly café and osteria plus four great restaurants serving typical local dishes. There is also a medieval castle with many rooms open to visitors, breathtaking views from the towers and an atmospheric cellar housing the regional wine association, with hundreds of local wines to taste and buy.
- Every two years since the mid 1960s the village has held a mural painting festival during which invited artists add their work to the walls of the houses lining the two main streets. The result is a unique and stunning open-air art gallery with a huge variety of different painting styles and subjects.

- THE VALSELLUSTRA VALLEY – This picturesque green valley is particularly popular with cyclists and also leads to various walking routes. There are two highly recommended restaurants and a bruschetteria on or near the road that winds along close the Sellustra stream at the bottom of the valley.
This area formed part of the ‘Gothic line’ during the winter of 1944-45 and amongst the characteristic folds of the hills at the top of the valley there is still evidence of the battles that took place between the Allied and German forces.

- IMOLA – The nearest larger town is 8km away and can be reached by bike or bus. Imola has many cafes, bars and restaurants and an open-air market three mornings a week. The historic centre has a wide range of interesting shops while there is also a modern shopping mall on the edge of the town. The large castle, where Leonardo Da Vinci once stayed and drew a map of Imola, is open to the public and often houses special events such as an open-air cinema on summer evenings. Fans of motor racing will know the town for its Enzo and Dino Ferrari racetrack, which has played host to the San Marino Formula One Grand Prix and Superbike races among other competitions. The Ducati and Ferrari factories and museums are both within easy reach, being located near Bologna and Modena respectively.

Possible daytrip destinations: Bologna, Rimini, Ravenna, San Marino, Florence, Venice, Parma, Ferrara.

Activities that can be organised upon request: Italian cookery lessons, wine-tasting at the local vineyard and winery, bikes to borrow and cycling tours, Second World War battlefield tours (please express your interest in any of these when booking).

Facilities available at the farm include free wi-fi internet access for travellers with their own laptop computers.

How to get here:

By bus: Catch the 101 bus that runs between Bologna and Imola and get off at the ‘Café Nuevo’ stop between Toscanella and Piratello (1 hour from Bologna, 10 minutes from Imola). The stop is about 3 km from the farm.

By train: The nearest station is in Imola, which has direct connections from Bologna, Ravenna, Rimini and Ancona.

We are happy to come and collect you from either the bus stop or Imola train station.

Nearest airports: Bologna, with flights from many European cities, including Ryanair connections from London Stansted, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Frankfurt Hahn, Dublin, Paris, Oslo, Barcelona and Brussels. Look for Bologna (BLQ) on the Ryanair website.