Agriturismo Il Sole Verde

Languages I speak: Italian, English

Guido Il Sole Verde I have never stopped loving the place where I spent my childhood and youth. After living in the city for 35 years and working for a bank for 29 years, for various reasons I decided, with the support of my wife Angela (a teacher) and asking a sacrifice of my son Francesco, then 18, to return to live in the countryside and renovate the farm, which was now in decline. On January 1, 1998, the new adventure began near Siena. My personal home had already been renovated, so all efforts were directed toward starting the work to get the new business up and running. The first goal was to cultivate the existing land and vineyards in the best possible way, and for this I was fortunate to meet two special people who taught me and helped me for several years: Piero and Armando. The second goal was to create a farmhouse, first finding a pleasant name that would remain in the memory of tourists. During a dinner with former colleagues from the bank, organized to say goodbye to me, someone suggested "Sole Verde" (Green Sun), which I transformed into "Il Sole Verde" (The Green Sun), suitable for the farm and the agritourism business. In 24 months, thanks to Angela's active help, the farmhouse was set up and in April 1999 it welcomed its first customer: Mr. Roberto. A few months later, in 2000, it was running at full capacity. Since then, continuous improvements have been made, always suggested by Angela's imagination, who is very sensitive to the needs of guests and my hard work. Meanwhile, Francesco took care of the office while Agnese, his girlfriend, handled public relations in German. The work of my in-laws was also very important, as they immediately took care of the many maintenance and beautification tasks. The wisdom and optimism of my father-in-law Antonio, who always encouraged me to keep going, were invaluable. Once the farmhouse was set up, it was time to take care of, improve, and start the farm. I started by replanting new vineyards and building a new one, which I populated by purchasing 500 olive trees from my sister. I won't go on any further and will leave it to the blog and anyone who wants to read it to share all the memories, suggestions, and lessons learned that have allowed me to grow Il Sole Verde in accordance with values and traditions that, unfortunately, today's young people are forgetting. Allow me, however, to say a few words about what hospitality means to me, or rather to us, including the new arrival, my granddaughter Emma (because in the meantime Francesco has grown up and Agnese has become his wife): Hospitality means always being ready to welcome our guests, making them feel 'at home', assisting them in their every need and enjoying their company with courtesy and discretion, preferably accompanied by a glass of good wine, such as a nice red Solarius! We have hosted many people and can say that we have many new friends whom we love as part of a large "extended" family. To conclude this brief story, I would like to mention the important presence of my two beloved dogs, Orso and Lassy, who have been our discreet and faithful friends for years. It is also thanks to them that my farmhouse, a few kilometers from Siena, has been able to immediately create that warmth and feeling of "family" (which has always distinguished us!) with the guests who, from time to time, came to stay here. My thoughts go out to their replacement, Ercole, "The Guardian," who left us in October 2017. This adventure began when I was 51 years old, and I recommend it to anyone who has a farm, a passion, and a family like mine. Guido.