Selvaggia Lucarelli

"It’s never easy to describe the magic of places wrapped in enchantment, because the stuff magic is made of is, after all, wizardry. We Muggles can only try to tell a little of it, with the dulled wand of our eyes, which always end up missing something.

I found La Traversina while looking for a place to stay in Valle Scrivia (a tug-of-war zone between nature and man).

I didn’t know much about the area, and besides, we wanted to visit Antonella, Vittorio, and Maelle, and find a quiet place to write. That’s how I came across photos of this place that looks like it stepped out of a fairy tale book — or maybe a little like the landscapes of Dordogne or the Cotswolds. I booked one of the three small apartments (the one called 'Chinese Rose') and on Friday we arrived, after just over an hour’s drive from Milan, down a road that leads deep into the woods surrounding La Traversina.

There, 300 varieties of roses awaited us, plants with every kind of scent, the wonderful dog Bigia, two purring cats, a pool nestled at the edge of the forest, a cozy little house, and the vibrant, warm, incredible hostess who, with her Domenico, has made this place so unique — and almost unbelievably better known among foreigners than among Italians: Rosanna.

Rosanna, who makes rose jelly — a local specialty — who knows the names of butterfly species, who cooks and welcomes, who makes you feel at home, even if no one will ever have a home as beautiful as hers. One of the most beautiful places in Italy, unpretentious, affordably priced, luxurious in the way only nature can be. And I say this without being paid to say it, as always.

Three studio apartments and three atmospheric rooms. Go there and treat it well, because when it comes to magic — if you’re not the one practicing it — you must take good care of it."

Selvaggia Lucarelli