Visit with our local guide partner, Tenuta La Mondina “Riso Buono” from April to September/October.

In the heart of Casalbeltrame, a village immersed in the Novara rice fields halfway between Novara and Vercelli, the Tenuta La Mondina tells centuries of history and shows the production of an Italian excellence: rice. Three large courtyards, the ancient stables, an elegant aristocratic wing and ample production areas can be visited. This is a journey through the history of rice and rural architecture, but it also tells the story of the many Italian varieties of this precious cereal.

Since the 17th century, a flagship of Novara rice

We are at the end of the 17th century when the noble Gautieri family, coming from the county of Nice, settled in these lands in Casalbeltrame. It is a stone’s throw from the abbey of San Nazzaro Sesia (one of the most important monuments in the Novarese area, in an area famous since the Middle Ages for the exploits of the Counts of Biandrate

. Even today we find this area managed by the direct descendants of that family, the Guidobono Cavalchini. Their company directs the activities in 200 hectares of land, 120 of which are cultivated with rice paddies. They continue to work ‘as in the old days’, with traditional irrigation methods and innovative cultivation techniques, after structures were abandoned for about 100 years during the 20th century.

Today, the restoration of the farmhouse has brought to light the elegant aristocratic wing, with its neo-Gothic decorations on the outside, an imposing grand staircase and fine frescoes from different periods on the inside. There are also the old kitchens, the old pantry made entirely of bricks and the old garden that once housed vegetable plots and greenhouses.

The salarymen’s court shows traces of the lifestyle of the time and houses the stables, which have never been remodelled and a renow home to a “teaching room’ where the history of rice and the many varieties produced in Italy can be discovered.

In the third courtyard, you can see the company’s current production areas: from the dryer to the storage silos, from the packaging to the mill for making white and black rice flour. And you only have to go through a large gate to find yourself among the Carnaroli Classico and Artemide black rice paddies, with the dome of San Gaudenzio’s Basilica in Novara on the horizon.

A rich Risottos tasting will be included into our daily experience.

Rice is one of the kings of Northern Italian cuisine, and we’ll take you to the area where the most renowned varieties are cultivated to uncover the secrets of cultivation, production, and cooking. Traverse through rice fields, savoring delicious dishes along the way.