Today we have prepared a very special conversation for you. We are talking to Maria, Manuela's mother and senior manager of the Locanda Mistral.
Maria tells us, among other things, about her childhood in the Valle Maira, how she “found” the Locanda Mistral, about the hotel’s opening on 09.09.1999 and the hotel’s development since then.
Dear Maria, what is your connection to the Valle Maira and the Locanda Mistral?
I have been connected to Valle Maira all my life. I was born in Acceglio and lived there until I was ten. I had to leave the valley for middle and high school, but I always felt connected to it: in Acceglio I had my family and my roots. Looking for a permanent job, I worked with children with disabilities first in Liguria and then in Turin. I went to university there and met my husband. We got married, but I just didn't like life in the big city. When we had the opportunity to move to Diano Marina in Liguria, that's what we did. My husband worked in retail at the beginning, then in agriculture - I worked at a school. Our two daughters were born and they studied in Imperia and then in Milan. Manuela has a degree in tourism science, Genova Camilla in pharmaceutical chemistry. Our two daughters also loved returning to the Valle Maira, where their grandma, cousins and friends lived. We always spent our free time in Acceglio, which is why the strong ties never broke.
In 1994 we learned from my brother that this house - the Locanda Mistral - was for sale. At that time it was a typical farmhouse from the 17th - 18th centuries, with all the characteristics of the Occitan culture of the Valle Maira. Without thinking long, we decided to buy the old farmhouse, enthusiastic about the simplicity and durability, the architecture and also because of the unique history of these four walls.
Why did you jump into this project?
The building had been empty for some time. The owners had lived on the ground floor, the stable was next door, and there were two bedrooms on the first floor. The rest of the house was used to store hay and wood for the winter. After the initial enthusiasm, we thought about how we could use the house without changing the look too much. Since my husband was a farmer, we offered a holiday on the farm and converted four rooms on the ground floor for this purpose. On 09.09.1999 the time had come: the Locanda Mistral was opened. In the first few years we only accepted guests in the summer months and at Christmas time. In the beginning these guests came mainly from Italy, and in the summer an international guest or two sometimes stumbled upon us when lost in the Valle Maira. However, that has changed over time and we have been able to expand our business further.
If you think back to your childhood: what was it like growing up in the Valle Maira?
The valley was heavily populated until 1950/60, with many children and residents as well as numerous inns and shops in every town. Agriculture was the main source of income for the residents: many had 5/6 cows, some sheep that came to the alpine pastures in summer so that the hay could be mowed in the meadows and brought in for winter. It was a lot of hard work to support my family. And in the 70s, with industrial development, many residents broke away from this hard life and moved to the cities to work in the new factories and have a better life.
At the same time, the Valle Maira has developed into a summer destination for families with children from the big cities. Sometimes they stayed in an apartment or hotel for months. That, too, has changed again with developments in society: the stays have become shorter, but one came more often to the Valle Maira.
That also gave us food for thought and only after we had traveled we realized how unique the Valle Maira is: with intact nature, beautiful landscapes, cultural and artistic wealth. This is how the “Mistral Adventure” began - we chose the name ourselves to commemorate the great Occitan poet, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Fréderic Mistral.
When you think back today, what are you most proud of?
Of course, these were also difficult and exhausting years for me, my husband and our two daughters. We have constantly tried to improve and expand our Locanda, to be warm hosts and to offer real quality. And we are satisfied that we did that and achieved great results. The guests were always our focus and with a lot of sensitivity and warmth we managed to bring more and more guests to the Locanda and to win many friends for life.
And what do you wish for Manuela and Renato for the future? And what about for the Valle Maira?
I am very happy to see how much passion Manuela and Renato put into running the Locanda, how much they try to put the guest at the center and offer them a unique stay. The Locanda Mistral is simply perfect for those guests who are looking for nature, sustainability and unique mountain experiences.
Fortunately, the Valle Maira has been spared from mass tourism, from fast tourism, and so it will hopefully continue to be. It is simply unique: a mix of landscapes, history, alpine culture - so many experiences and emotions that can still be offered to the guests.
Visitors to the Valle Maira are also looking for close contact with the valley, the inhabitants and the uniqueness it offers. You have to like slowness and calm, sometimes switch off your mobile phone and discover the small towns. Only those who take time for themselves and the Valle Maira will see and understand its full beauty.
Maria Colombo: Maria, retired teacher, opened Locanda Mistral in 1999 with her husband Vanni. Today she is a passionate grandma and has passed the reins to Manuela and Renato. Maria lives with her husband in Imperia, but can still be found very often in the Locanda Mistral as a helping hand.
