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Voghera is the name of a beautiful little town that is home to nearly 40,000 residents, located at the intersection of the “pianura padana” (the po river valley) and the “colline dell’oltrepo pavese” (oltrepo pavese hills) 42 miles south of milan, Italy.

it was founded by the ancient Romans as “Vicus Iriae,” meaning “village of iria,” and during medieval times the name evolved into “viqueria” and eventually in modern italian assumed today’s name.

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It is also the place where i, marco, was born and grew up. Voghera gave birth to more notable people than me, like Giovanni Plana, astronomer and mathematician. The “Crater Plana” on the Moon is named in his honor. voghera is also the birthplace of the renowned luxury-car manufacturers Maserati brothers and fashion icon Valentino Garavani, known simply as Valentino, who, in his early years trained with my grandfather Antonio, before the latter moved his trade to custom-made furs and coats.

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When I decided to open my own restaurant I wanted to pay tribute to this wonderful little gem located at the foothills of the Oltrepo Pavese area, land of spectacular ancient “Borghi” and food niches such as “Salame di Varzi” and “Peperone di Voghera,” as well as specialty wines like “pinot nero” and “bonarda”,