Cascina Cichetti

Hostess Silvana’s claim to fame is her innate ability to please guests at the dining table and she did this for years in her own restaurant in Alba, which was written up in many culinary guides. Now she concentrates on her privileged guests who can sample her regional specialties right at home. Gracious Silvana and her journalist husband, Gianni, have transformed the grandparents’ farmhouse, a group of three attached wings forming a U, into an intimate bed and breakfast with just two rooms. Their idea was to offer couples maximum space and privacy in junior suites (Rosa and Azzurra). Each room has its own entrance from the garden, sitting area, bedroom, and bathroom and Azzurra also has a small loft with two extra beds. The most extraordinary feature here is the soul-soothing panoramic views encompassing layers and layers of unspoilt landscapes dotted with villages and farmhouses all the way to the distant Alps on the horizon. All this accompanied by silence or the occasional chirping of birds. At sunset the only thing that can possibly tear guests away from the patio with its huge pots of hydrangeas overlooking the deep-green countryside is the call to dinner for another one of Silvana’s fabulous meals served on the veranda.