Michela's Asparagus and Eggs: An Illustrated Recipe

A few years ago Carlo Sitzia and Michela Chiarolaro decided they wanted a change -- he sold trucks, while she was an art historian/jeweler -- so they purchased Palazzetto Ardi, a 14th century farm complex near Gambellara, in the flatlands between Vicenza and Verona, which one of the local noble families had used primarily as a grainery and warehouse.

They've have done a beautiful job of restoring it and transforming it into an agriturismo:
The hayloft and grainery have become rooms for guests (they're a few minutes from a station on the Venice-Verona rail line), the stables have become a very pleasant dining area, and the new kitchen is professional, and perfectly suited to serving those who come to eat (guests, and locals too), or to teaching how to cook.

Carlo and Michela both work the fields, and both work in the kitchen, though if one wants to talk about division of labor Carlo perhaps does more of the heavy work outside, tending the vineyard and making the wines -- fine whites and reds -- while Michela is also a trained chef, and is an expert in traditional food storage techniques. Production is entirely organic, and they raise their own livestock as well.