Antica Corte Pallavicina – the hotel, restaurant and farm owned by Massimo and Luciano Spigaroli – is a labour of love that honours the history and tradition of the grand old estate. This is unsurprising given the strong personal connection the family have to the site (their great-grandfather first came to Corte Pallavicina over a hundred years ago and their father was born there), but the brothers do much to celebrate the original historical context of the building, too. Located in the striking ruins of a former castle and farm, Corte Pallavicina has many old nooks and crannies which have undergone extensive renovation to be returned to their original use; the bespoke cheese room is once again being used for maturing cheese, for example, and cured meats hang from beams in the cellars.

Massimo, who deals with the catering side of the business, is intensely proud of Corte Pallavicina’s produce, not least because it appeals to his childhood dream of only cooking with products he has grown or made himself. Their commitment to these values is impressive – the estate’s vast and much-loved farm even grows the maize to feed the pigs which make their salumi – and they are more than happy to give guests a closer look at the various stages of production. Day-trippers, too, can come and enjoy a tour of the estate, whether it’s a peek round the kitchen garden or a crash course in what it takes to rear specialist pig and cow breeds.

Below the restaurant lies Massimo’s meat-curing cellar, with whole legs of Culatello di Zibello DOP hanging from the rafters. This is some of the most prized (and expensive) charcuterie in the whole of Italy, made from the tender centre of the leg normally used for prosciutto, and figures such as Alain Ducasse, Massimo Bottura and even Prince Charles deal with Massimo directly in a bid to get their hands on some.