I am Valentino, I run
the bed and breakfast Alchimissa with Lucia, my
wife, and I managed to make my dream come true. I was born in the valleys
near Vercelli but, for many reasons, during my life I often changed town.
Perhaps this led me to develop a passion for travelling and for wanting to
know people and cultures that were not my own.
I have loved photography ever since I was a child.
My guitar,
my faithful companion, was love at first string, ops, sight. It allowed me
to explore the musical world not only from without but also from within,
also thanks to my training as sound technician. I have worked in the field
of post production and for some years I was in a jingles and
radio-television advertisements studio. I also worked for Radio Montecarlo
as sound technician.
In 1996 I left everything and opened a pub, Lo Sciamano, with Lucia, her
sister Rosy and husband Joz. My new passions started here: cocktails and
cooking. In this period Lucia and I had the chance to travel and to pursue
our common interests, but also to work together and understand what to do
when the job as barman would became too tiring.
2004 was for us the year of another great change. Having sold the pub and
lived for two months in Jamaica, we had decided to open a guest house in
Port Antonio (Jamaica). It was a brave and adventurous choice, we could have
done it if we had not had two dogs, five cats, one guinea-pig and three
tortoises! The Jamaican government does not allow any animal from the
European Community to enter Jamaica (excluding Britain).
Disappointed by what was happening (we had already found the building) we
had to find another island or somewhere that was an better-placed to live in
than the Milanese hinterland, somewhere to start our guesthouse.
I am enormously grateful to my father who one day asked me if I wanted to
go to Sardinia to see a building of his, that needed restoring before being
sold.
Well, I can’t deny that it took us very little to decide what to do... Just
the time to wrap up our stuff and within three months we had moved to this
marvellous island with our crew of animals.
Restoring the house kept us busy for a year and a half but we finally made
it. Now other than running the B&B, I continue with my passions for
photography, music and creation of internet sites.
