Contrada Bricconi

Scenario

When it comes to sustainability, today’s scenario unfolding before us is complex and multifaceted.

One scourge of the current gastronomic scene is definitely food waste , which – according to ANSA data – costs Italy 15 billion euros a year, which is equivalent to about one point of GDP: “in Italian homes, about 6 billion euros worth of food is thrown into the dustbin every year, to which 9 billion euros of the supply chain’s waste should be added” (ANSA, 2024).

WWF studies have reported alarming data: they, in fact, showed that Italian citizens individually throw a little less than half a kilogram of food into the garbage every week, making the annual food waste amount to 25 kilograms, with a total monetary value of about 300 euros.

The indirect consequences of this phenomenon are crucial for our planet since food waste is responsible for 20 percent of fresh water and fertilizer consumption and 30 percent of global agricultural land use.

Another equally important trend that is being seen in recent years is the presence of a renewed and sincere interest in rural and marginal areas: “mass tourism is entering a ‘crisis’ for the first time considering the high exploitation of environmental and natural resources of the territory and the consequent degradation of local traditions and cultures” (Murgia, 2004).

It thus finds fertile ground for its affirmation in sustainable tourism or so-called “slow tourism,” which, when practiced responsibly, consciously and respectfully, pushes visitors to discover lesser-known destinations. It thus constitutes an important launching pad for the promotion of the authentic beauty of places and for the enhancement of the infinite resources they possess.

The reported evidence calls for an urgent paradigm shift: there is a perceived urgent need to design innovative facilities that are capable of enhancing the local area, promoting sustainable practices that protect the natural environment and its biodiversity and combat waste and pollution in all their forms.

Description

Contrada Bricconi is an agritourism located in the heart of the Bergamo Valleys, created with the aim of reviving, through agriculture and catering, the important production cycle of this geographical area.

An enchanting place at an altitude of almost 1,000 meters hidden in the Orobian Alps, Contrada is amodern farmhouse founded in 2011 by Giacomo Perletti within a late medieval architectural complex in the municipality of Oltressenda Alta, in Valzurio, Alta Val Seriana. The farmhouse takes its very name from the impervious place where it was built: “bréc” in dialect – from which the expression “bricchi” derives – in fact means “perched place.”

Thus, in 2011, the building redevelopment of this now-abandoned 15th-century farming hamlet began, aimed at reviving the complex relationship between man and mountain. In 2013, the Contrada began to be frequented in the summer months, while in 2017, thanks to the support of three young architect friends, the barn was redesigned, which even got a mention in the international mountain architecture competition as a new alpine architecture.

In the following years, the business expanded more and more, with the opening of a dairy and the signing of contracts with local farms, until, in 2022, the agritourism was opened with the point of sale, created with the aim of giving visitors a unique taste experience centered on the products of the land and local flavors.

In 2024, the facility, for its guarantee of high product quality and modus operandi under the banner of sustainability, was awarded a Michelin Star and a Green Star, to which Chef Lazzarini commented, “The Green Star is an important recognition, but I have to say that we still do not feel fully sustainable: we still want to reduce waste. Catering travels faster than agriculture: a chef needs everything and now. There still remains a veil of consumerism, which perhaps can be reduced further. We are trying to do that” (Farina, 2024).

Today the Contrada is a complex ecosystem on a vast property. It boasts a splendid vegetable garden in which both native plants and specimens of allochthonous origin-sourced directly from the chef’s travels-are cultivated, as well as a hay barn, equipped with a pit for storing and drying hay in two stages in order to avoid fermentation and preserve its beauty and nutritional properties.

There is also a barn teeming with animals – forty Alpine Grey cows, lambs, black pigs, goats, sheep of the Gigante Bergamasca breed, rabbits, quail and laying hens – and a dairy, which is directly connected to the milking parlor via underground conduits, so as to ensure almost immediate processing of milk into cheese. As for the animals, they are fed with hay and fodder from the Contrada meadows and with the scraps produced in the kitchen and obtained from the manufacturing processes, while the activities of grazing, lactation, slaughtering and product processing take place on site.

Eighty percent of the agricultural products are made entirely in-house, while the remaining 20 percent – including fruits, jams, honey, flour and wine – sourced from small businesses in the area, is almost zero kilometer. This promotes anintense appreciation of the work and labor of artisans, ranchers, farmers, hunters, fishermen, mushroom growers and vintners, as well as of local resources: the water of the valleys itself lends itself to multiple uses, while wood from the area is used to fuel a biocompensation boiler to heat the farmhouse, in order to ensure 100% green energy.

At the head of this utopian reality is a young and enterprising brigade under 40 committed between the dining room and the kitchen in order to merge agriculture, livestock farming and catering into an inseparable union. The creator of the dishes served on the table, true works of art, is Michele Lazzarini, chef of the Contrada, as well as a cook of refined training and great experience, while responsible for the reception can only be Giacomo Perletti, who in an erudite and cultured – but never haughty – tone tells visitors about the history of the place, the ingredients and the products used.

The restaurant offers a unique fine dining experience that is a true gastronomic reading of the Bergamo peaks, allowing diners to savor mountain culture. The menu is seasonal and can vary daily based on the sourcing of fresh ingredients, so that the best possible quality is always guaranteed. What sets the Contrada apart and makes it unique, however, is undoubtedly its focus on sustainability: every practice and every activity carried out at the agriturismo is under the banner of circularity and environmental care.

This is evident not only in the dense network of contacts established with local farms and producers, but also with the area’s accommodation facilities – indicated by the Contrada as places where customers can stay overnight – thus practicing intense social promotion. A much more practical and concrete example of sustainability is instead found in a dish that is offered at the conclusion of the tasting experience at the restaurant: in fact, a whey candy is offered to customers, obtained by boiling the whey of cow’s milk-usually a waste product of processing-that is created at the table and dipped in dried mountain flowers and herbs.

Further demonstrations of the attention to sustainability promoted on the farm include the use of hay from the meadows and kitchen scraps to feed the livestock, the use of animal manure to fertilize the fields and the practice of composting, all aimed at limiting the waste of resources. Thus, Contrada Bricconi agritourism is a reality that is rooted in tradition but, at the same time, looks to the future, demonstrating that “even in the difficulties of living in a mountain environment, it is possible to develop a sustainable and cutting-edge activity” (Contrada Bricconi, n.d.).

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