The country trattoria full of cured meats loved by Giorgio Armani and his mother

It was Giorgio Armani’s and his mother’s favourite trattoria. They often went there, because in that simple, warm dining room, in the countryside around Piacenza, more precisely in Rivalta (his beloved place, where his funeral was also held), they found the same atmosphere as the home kitchen. Anolini in capon broth served piping hot, ricotta and spinach tortelli dressed with butter and sage, pisarei e fasò that tasted of family Sundays (here’s where to eat the latter in the area): dishes that were not just food, but memory. Today Repubblica recalls that habit, underlining how it was precisely the loyalty to an authentic tradition that made Sabrina Piazza’s and her mother Rina’s Locanda del Falco famous.

It was 1975 when the two women decided to open the doors of their inn and cook as they would have done for friends. A family gesture that, over the years, became a profession and then, slowly, a school of gastronomic style. Because that cuisine, while remaining faithful to its peasant roots, knew how to change without ever forgetting where it came from.

Every weekend, when he could, Armani lunched here after leaving Villa Broni. A fixed table, a bench near the counter, often accompanied by his mother, Maria Raimondi. The ritual of ricotta and spinach tortelli just as his mother used to make them. And the coppa piacentina, which he never gave up. «He used to call me to let me know and I would prepare them with a thicker pasta, the way he liked them,» recalls Sabrina Piazza, the restaurant’s owner, in Corriere della Sera.

How one eats in Giorgio Armani’s favourite trattoria

At the entrance, the shop with PDO cured meats and preserves immediately tells of a strong bond with the territory. Capocolli and salamis hang above the large wooden counter, warm and welcoming. In the summer of 2025 there was a change in the kitchen: after four years Pietro Carlo Pezzati handed the baton to a pair of chefs, Manuel Castillo and Pietro Maini, who are continuing to work along the same lines, though it is still too soon to make a definitive judgement. What is certain is that, over the years, this beautiful provincial trattoria has found a rare balance: combining technique with respect for raw materials. Thus, simple vegetables have become fun and daring gastronomic experiences, as in the case of the cuore di bue tomato caressed by the scents of lavender, or the roasted onion dressed in a honey-based sweet-and-sour.

Among the strong character dishes that have become signature items stands out the cured beef tongue with elderberry and grilled spring onion, a meeting of flavours both bold and delicate. When it comes to desserts, the blackberry granita with smoked goat’s curd wins over with its unusual and surprisingly harmonious pairing. The wine list is extensive, with labels that embrace both Piacenza’s identity and a national breadth. Service is attentive, precise, with that kind of courtesy that cannot be learnt from manuals but only by living in the dining room.