Courtyard upside down for renovation works!

Big works at Villa Mimma!!!

The courtyard has been dismantled for renovation works. It will take about a month to pave the whole of the courtyard.

Here the parsimony tree is still standing. It may be necessary to let it go. It has been part of the courtyard ever since I can remember. We'll see what we can do.

Free accommodation to be won!

WIN a night in B&B for two people!
How many statues are used in the "presepe del torchio"?

Win a night accommodation for two people at Villa Mimma B&B.

Send your answer via email at win@villamimma.com including your
details (name, surname, address and a telephone number).

Deadline: 17:00 hours of the 30th of November 2010 (Italian time).

The winner will be decided with a blind-folded draw on the night of the 30th of November amongst those who sent the correct answer.

One entry per person only.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Fan number 70 on facebook has won a free night accommodation at Villa Mimma B&B for two people!!!

Artificial snow dome: the first in Italy, amongst the first in Europe!

Near Villa Mimma there will be the first Italian artificial snow dome, Dubai style! This will be amongst the first European ones (there are already one in Holland and one in Germany), opening towards the end of 2013! Over 100 new jobs and a unique business boosting opportunity for the Monferrato region.

Free accommodation in B&B to be won!

Complimentary accommodation at Villa Mimma in honour of Paola's 70th birthday for the 70th Villa Mimma's facebook fan!

Conditions:

• Register as a Villa Mimma's fan before September the 6th 2010 (Paola's birthday);
• Free: One night accommodation at Villa Mimma's B&B for two people in double/twin room.

How to claim your free accommodation:

• You will receive a unique identifier number from Villa Mimma B&B via email;
• Quote your identifier number at the time of the reservation.

Excursions and photography

Discover the Park of the River Po and its nature trails with "Orme Lievi" (Light Footsteps)

"Light footsteps as the traces of the animals that disappear with the wind or with a few drops of rain,

Light footsteps as those that everyone of us should leave behind ourselves but that become deep sulci in everyday life"

See the website http://www.ormelievi.it/ for further information.

The Holy Shroud - Turin 2010

Today we went to see the Holy Shroud in Turin. We left Villa Mimma around 10:30am, with rack-sack with sandwiches and water prepared by Paola for us. We parked in Casale Monferrato station and were lucky enough to find a free parking space. Buying the train ticket to Turin was quite an adventure in itself as the station machine was broken. Nevertheless we made it! We boarded a coach that took us straight to Vercelli where we could then take a train to Turin.

In Vercelli we had 30 minutes to spare so we took the chance to stroll to the Cathedral of Saint Andrew, a Romanic-Gothic church. The red, green and grey marbles and stones used for its interior and exteriors make an impressive church worth seeing it. The cloister is also open to the public and it was restored for the millennium.

Once in Turin (at around 1pm), after a pleasant train journey from Vercelli, we strolled under the galleries that are on the side of Piazza Carlo Felice, Via Roma, Piazza San Carlo (which is the centre of Turin life), until we reached Piazza Castello. We passed many fashion shops and cafes, selling the renowned chocolate of Turin!

In the church of San Lorenzo, at the corner of Piazza Castello, we could appreciate the Shroud through pictures and historical notes. This was excellent as the children could see it and I had the time to point features out to them. I was worried about their interest for it, but they were really keen to know about the scientific proofs of the authenticity of the Shroud and the extreme similarities between the signs of the Shroud and the recount of the crucifixion by the Gospels.

We had time to stroll to the gardens by the Royal palace and find a playground before joining the queue to see the Shroud. We had booked to see it at 4:30 pm, joined the path that led to it at 4pm and hardly stopped at all in our walk towards it. Time passed incredibly fast as the walk develops under a structure build for it with paintings of the life of Jesus through history. Then the path takes you above some excavations of a Roman Theatre, until you reach the final point where you join a group to see a presentation of the Shroud and its signs. After this, you are asked to enter the Guarini Chapel built in 1694 for the Shroud.

The silence and devotion of the people in the church are certainly catching and the emotion for seeing something so real is overwhelming. Whether you believe that it was Jesus wrapped in that cloth or not, it is still unbelievable what the man of the shroud must have suffered and the sense of dignity and respect that the figure inspires when you stand by it.

Overall it took us about 45 minutes to go through and it certainly wasn't that ordeal of queueing and waiting that we expected, even for the children.

Tickets to see the Holy Shroud: http://www.sindone.org/

Train connections to Turin: http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/

Accommodation at Villa Mimma email info@villamimma.com

(20% discount on accommodation and train tickets with bookings to see the Holy Shroud).

The cellar of the Nativities - December 28th 2009 - January 31st 2010

Villa Mimma has prepared the cellar of the Nativities once more and it will be open to the public from December the 28th 2009 to January the 31st 2010 for visits, from 3pm till 6pm - appointments are advisable (tel: +39 0142 487953 or email: info@villamimma.com).

The cellar has more than 20 nativities, set-up by Andrea Gandini, with statues of different origins!

This year new idea is the nativity set in the old wine-press (see it in the picture while in preparation!).

Also the cellar of the nativities can be voted on http://www.sagep.it/, where it is listed together with many other nativities (presepi) of the Piedmont and Liguria regions. This is an initiative sponsored by the Council of Genoa, The Lions Club (District 108 Ia2) and SAGEP editors.

In order to vote, you need to register first though. The fields required for the registration are:
NOME (NAME)
COGNOME (SURNAME)
LOGIN (choose a login)
PASSWORD (choose a password)
SAGEP CLUB (untick if you do not wish to receive the offers from SAGEP editors).
You can leave the rest blank.

Once you have registered, click on the banner "Vota il presepe" to vote the presepe of your choice. You can vote one nativity in each category. The cellar of the nativities is listed under the traditional nativities (PRESEPI della TRADIZIONE), half way down the list, shown as Presepe di Treville - La Cantina dei Presepi.

The first 600 voters can claim a free book (Musica & Gastronomia) on the Italian tradition of cooking and music - starting from the Romans! It is a really nice hard-back book (in Italian, I'm afraid!), which needs to be collected at SAGEP in GEnoa. If you are unable to collect your book yourself, please post the voucher to Villa Mimma (Via Roma 30, 15030 Treville (AL), Italy) and Paola will collect the book for you. Do not forget to include your name and full address so we can post it to you afterwords.

The most voted nativity will receive a medal as a recognition of its role in the Christian tradition of the Nativities. Andrea would welcome all your votes off course!

Newsletter - June 2009

Spring Events Summary

Open Air Swimming Pool - Casale Monferrato

Special Offers

News from Treville

Spring Events Summary

Spring has been a busy time as usual with many guests staying with us throughout April and May. Some have come back for the second time and have shared in family events like Alberto's 70th birthday party when Paola put together a menue for a king!

The family also saw about 25 couples coming to Villa Mimma to celebrate Claudia's 40th birthday. On Easter Monday Claudia organised a reunion of friends from school, uni, social networks and even work. People came from Switzerland, the UK, as well as from various parts of Italy, such as the Riviera, Milan, Pavia, Rome, Bologna...The day was gorgeous and everybody enjoyed the tranquillity of Villa Mimma's courtyard, the local wine and the buffet of salami, pizzas and pasta that was prepared. The children (approximately 25, aged between 2 and 12) mingled in groups, with the boys kicking the football for most of the day on the road. Even if some people knew only a few of the others, everybody joined in the chatty atmosphere and had a great time. Claudia certainly will never forget this celebration and the many wishes she recived throughout the day, including all the messages she received from those who could not be there: they will always be special.

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In May Treville took part in the Riso & Rose festivities and Villa Mimma hosted book presentations and painting exibitions. One of the events of the day saw the classic guitarrist Marco Panzarino playing with the flute of Manuela Santagata in the Romanic church of San Quirico. Marco and his wife, who is a pianist, were guests of Villa Mimma and left us this memory of their stay: "Il mio soggiorno a Villa Mimma e' stato un momento intenso di serenita' e calma, che mi ha permesso di esprimermi musicalmente in un ambiente simpatico, sereno ed artistico. (My stay at Villa Mimma was an intense moment of tranquillity and serenity that allowed me to express myself through my music in a serene, peaceful and artistic location.)"

Open Air Swimming Pool - Casale Monferrato

Often people ask if there is a pool at Villa Mimma. At the moment no, but this is a big dilemma as we often wonder whether it would be worth it having a private pool. In fact, not far away from Villa Mimma, at the edges of Casale Monferrato, there is a beautiful complex that offers an open air swimming pool with changing facilities, deck chairs, pic-nic areas. There is also a play ground with a football pitch and volleyball court, trampolines and areas shaded by two large gazebos. For the summer 2009 we have decided to offer our guests FREE ENTRY to this pool, so check it out and book soon to take advantage of this great opportunity!

Special offers

Golfers - 10% discount on the accommodation

Schools in the UK - 20% discount on the accommodation

TCI, ANBBA, Surrey Alumni - 10% discount on the accommodation

News from Treville

Congratulations to Piero Coppo who was reconfirmed major of Treville for another 5 years with 84.75% of the votes!

Summer 2009 - New deal: FREE POOL ENTRY

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FREE POOL ENTRY 4 VILLA MIMMA's GUESTS - SUMMER 2009

We spent the day in the open air pool of Casale today and it was a great family day out. We all enjoyed it, managed to swim and have fun in the water as well as relax under the trees.

• The pool is 50mx21m with a big slide. It is 1.2m deep to one side and 2m to the other. There is also a children pool with three smaller slides.
• Sun beds around the pool are free to be used as well as deck chairs scatteres all around the grass area, under the trees.
• Changing rooms with lockers are cleaned and were available for use.
• A sandy football pitch, beach volley area, basketball court, table tennis and trampolines are all available to use, with balls provided - my boys had a go at basketball, football and table tennis!. For the little ones there is also a play area with swings and various climbing frames with slides.
• There is a bar that sells food (e.g., pizzas, sandwitches, hot dogs, fruit salads, water mellons, etc.), drinks and ice-creams. We took our own pic-nic and sat under the trees, but there is the option to eat there too.

We have spoken to the owners of the pool and we have managed to sort out a deal so that we can now offer the pool entry for free to our guests. So if you are coming to Villa Mimma this summer 2009, you can be assured that we will absorb the cost of the entrance to the pool within the rent of your accommodation, for as many days as you wish to go.

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Villa Mimma helps the Cabrini Children's Society

On Sunday 31st of May 2009 the Cabrini Children's Society held a fund raising event at Worth Abbey (UK). In the wonderful landscape surrounding the church, more than 400 people gathered for a meal and entertainment aimed at celebrating the success of the past 25 years of working with children and families in need.

Villa Mimma's owners, Paola and Alberto, are very fond of the work of the Cabrini Children's Society. In fact they have been able to appreciate the Society's work personally over the past 7 years. Paola and Alberto have therefore supported the event by donating a week of free accommodation in the apartment "Le Alpi" at Villa Mimma, as the prize of an auction that was histed during the celebrations. This raised £500 for the Society and the winner of the draw is Lulu Martin-Davies, Senior Social Worker at the Pureley agency of the Cabrini Children's Society.

It has been a pleasure to be able to help fund raising for the Cabrini Children's Society and we wish Lulu and her family a wonderful stay at Villa Mimma.

Swimming pool in Casale Monferrato

Along the bank of the river Po, through Casale Monferrato, you come across a public outdoor swimming pool, called "Centro Nuoto Montecarlo".

This is a lovely area immersed in the woodlands of the park of the river Po where you can find a large swimming pool with a big slide, deck chairs all around, pic-nic areas, football and volleyball pitches, play area, trampolines, changing facilities and off course a bar.

Entry fees: €7 per adult and €5 per child for a whole day.

Opening time: 10am and closes at 7:30pm (summer season only).

New deal for Guests of Villa Mimma - Pool entry included in the accommodation price!

Riso & Rose 2009 - festival of the arts

ARTS MEET TOGETHER

Sunday 3rd May 2009

This year Treville participates to the Riso & Rose festival of the Monferrato villages with a display of different forms of art: paintings, music, literacy, ceramic.

Here is the programme:

10.00am: Official opening in the courtyard of Casa Devasini, where there will be a book market organised by Treville's Library Giuseppe Spina.

10.30am: Villa Mimma: Inauguration of the painting exibition “Colori di Maggio” (May colours) of the memmbers of the Cultural Club Piero Ravasenga of Casale. At the same time, the small church of San Giacomo will be opened to show the “Rose in Ceramica” (ceramic Roses), collection presented by the potters of the Circolo Ravasenga.

3.30pm: At Villa Mimma the Library of Treville will present some books, e.g. "La Principessa di Millefiori” (which is a children's story);"Gli uomini del piccolo fiume” (novel for young adults); "lettura animata” (animation of literature pieces); At the end of the presentation, children will be given a game produced by the Library called "Treviltour", where you can go around a path displaying some of Treville's hot-spots and road signs, which gives penalties or prizes depending on where the counter stops. The winner is whoever gets to the arrival, i.e. the Library itself!

5.30pm: Jazz Concert with Luca Calabrese Quintet (Luca Calabrese – trumpet, Giorgia Barosso – vocal, Franco Russo – keyboard, Giorgio Allara – bass, Chicco Accornero – drum) in the terrace of Casa Devasini. Aperitif offered by the Rata Birata wine-bar of Treville.

7.30pm: Sunset Concert at the Pieve Romanica of San Quirico: tangos of Astor Piazzolla, and musics of Leo Brouwer and Jachques Ibert played by the flute and guitar of Manuela Santagata – Marco Panzarino (in case of rain the concert will be held in the Council Room).

Venaria Reale and the Egyptian sunken treasures

Venaria Reale is hosting a unique exhibition of the sunken treasures of Egypt! This is a unique opportunity to view the artefacts hidden in the sea after cities of majestic splendour such as Alexandria of Egypt were submersed by the water.

Here is a link to the official website of the exhibition, which will be at Venaria until the end of May 2009.

Snow at new year!

The new year started with the snow in Treville!

Happy 2009 to all our friends and guests that have enjoyed this enchanted little corner of the World over the years.

First snow: ready for skiing!

The first snow has fallen - heavy and thick!

If it stays it will be a white Christmas!

Weather - Rainy May!

Well, we cannot say that May has been the usual self this year!
We are used to lovely weeks of sunshine where people can take strolls in the lovely medieval villages that are scattered around the Monferrato hills.
Last week for example it constantly rained and when it stopped it was very cloudy and miserable.
We feel sorry for all those tourists who came to our Piedmont area on holiday in the past week or so and missed on the usual cheerfulness of blooming flowers and bright skylines. We hope you had a good time anyway and that this gives you a reason for coming back another time, when may be you will be luckier with the weather.

ADSL comes to Treville

Fantastic news: ADSL is now available in Treville too! It took years of persuasion but now TIM (Telecom Italian Mobile) has decided to reach this part of the world too with a fast Internet connection.


Villa Mimma has off course signed up for it and we are now investigating a Wi-Fi network solutions to allow our guests to connect to the Internet for free. A few thick walls to bypass but it will be soon available!!! So, watch out for any update!

Buona Pasqua - Happy Easter

To all of you who are in Italy for Easter Villa Mimma wishes a "Buona Pasqua"!

Discount on accommodation for golfers!

Latest news: Villa Mimma is offering 10% discount on the accommodation price if guests are coming to Italy to play golf.

Check our Trip Ideas posts for golf courses details.