Discovering a hidden pearl of South Tyrol, Maso Pirchhof is located on the high mountains near Merano. A timeless place, where good food and tradition go hand in hand.
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Today I want to tell you about our recent summer trip through the wonderful valleys of South Tyrol.
We spent a couple of days in the surroundings of Merano, a charming spa town nestled between the mountains and on the Passirio river.
We were looking for something that combined the good food of this exceptional area, with mountain trails where we could do some trekking and enjoy the mountains.
By chance, I found gallorosso, a website that promotes quality farms, km.0 Food and wine products, and peasant home-runs taverns, with the aim of supporting South Tyrolean farmers and helping the sustainable development of the peasant culture of South Tyrol.
My husband and I longed for a little escape from the hustle and bustle of the city and, as we both love to go exploring and discovering, we chose to visit a typical farm located in the high mountains: Maso Pirchhof.
The farm (Italian name is “Maso”) is located at almost 1500 meters above sea level and can be reached by car in about 30 min along a mountain road that climbs up from the village of Naturno, or by using the cableway and covering the last stretch on foot (around 1 hour from the top of the cableway).
The first thing that leaves us speechless was the view: an incredible panoramic view over the whole Val Venosta and the peaks of the Merano area.
Once arrive, because of the beauty around our eyes, we almost forgot to live in the present and all the daily stress, and we began to breathe fresh air and smile for no reason.
Maso Pirchhof has an ancient history: it has existed for almost 700 years and there are several cows, calves, goats, pigs, chickens living in it.
The main building overlooking the valley has a refuge and a terrace with a tavern for dining and a few accommodation for those who want to stop to sleep. There is also direct access to the hiking trails of the adjacent National Park and we took the opportunity to take a long walk before stopping to eat.
After a refreshing walk in the woods, our appetite was the right one to savor South Tyrol specialties almost exclusively produced by the family who run the farm.
One glance at the menu while drinking a refreshing local beer: so much choice that we end up ordering almost everything!
What we tasted:
All the dishes tasted were exceptional and presented with care and love.
As main course, we tried:
Fresh Fettuccine Pasta seasoned with a chanterelle mushroom sauce. Pasta was homemade pulled by hand to perfection, compact and consistent. The sauce was creamy and wooden flavored!
Speck Canederli in meat broth soup. This is one of my favorite recipe, the speck filling in the dumpling is luscious and the broth is slowly cooked until all tastes are expertly blended.
Canerderli Trio in a creamy mountain butter and sage sauce sprinkled with caramelized onion. This was my favorite, because so I was able to taste all kinds of dumplings – a cheese, a spinach and a speck one) in one dish.
For those unfamiliar with Canederli: this deliciousness is one of Tyrolean most famous specialties. Called Knodel in German language, Carnederli are big bread dumplings made with a mixture of bread, eggs, flour, milk and spices. It is an ancient peasant-derived recipe with a unique and delicious flavor.
As we were not yet fully satisfied, we continued with a very tasty Goat Goulash dish with sauerkraut and vegetables, a classic Potato and Eggs dish with smoked speck slices, and at last, we could not fail to taste the typical Cranberry Omelet and a Schmarren – a buckwheat a daily eggs pancake – sprinkled with icing sugar and a homemade red fruit jam. A real treat!
We concluded the meal with a taste of the incredible Poppy seeds and chestnuts Kraphen, accompanied by a homemade Pine Grappa.
It was a unique experience that I suggest to all those who love to have new experiences outside the normal tourist circuit and discover ancient and genuine traditions!
Here the direction to reach Maso Pirchhof:
- Fam. Erich Müller Sonnenberg, 77/a
- 39025 Naturno
- Tel. 0473 667812
- info@pirchhof.it
If you liked this post and would like to have more posts like this or know more little known corners of Italy, post a comment write us here and we will be happy to discover new places and succulent local trattorias for you!
Amazing! I know nothing about traveling all over the country, what a wonderful looking place to explore.
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Wow, this place looks absolutely amazing! I would definitely enjoy visiting this farm and tasting all that delicious food. Thank you so much for sharing your experience!
Wow so pretty!
Stunning pictures!! 😍
Gosh this place doesn’t even look real! SO beautiful! The food you had sounds absolutely wonderful too.
I love your pics! Definitely gonna add Maso Pirchhof to my list of places to visit
Amazing view i have been to Roma but never outside of Rome i need a new holiday it rains to much in the UK
https://www.wattophotos.co.uk/
what a beautiful place, it was so good view to start a relaxing day and the food looks so great!
This sounds like a fabulous trip! I love hearing about these places and putting them in my travel list!
What an incredible place! And so beautifully captured
Oh wow this looks absolutely incredible! The photos are just amazing, I love the views and the food 😍 honestly got me dreaming of going there in the future!
WOW! This all looks incredible. Is it OK that before 9am in the morning all I can think about is that delicious food!
Your pictures are simply beautiful x
Thank you Claire! xx
This place looks so beautiful and idyllic! I constantly dream about visiting Italy again some day. On my Italian honeymoon nearly 7 years ago, we’d visited Venice, Florence, Rome and Positano! There are so many more places in Italy that I’d love to visit. 🙂
Italy is a small country in spite of the treasures it hides.
Glad you liked my post and I wish you to come back soon to visit Italy, write to me if you need any travel tips! x