The scattered hotel that keeps a small Sardinian village alive

The inhabitants are just over two thousand, but all it takes is to lose oneself in the village’s winding alleys to make it seem much larger. Santu Lussurgiu is perched on a volcanic massif more than 500 metres above sea level. For over twenty years now, the Antica Dimora del Gruccione has stood here, a scattered hotel centred around a main residence — an 18th-century patrician villa — and two other neighbouring housing units, carefully restored, offering a total of 15 rooms. The name, taken from the colourful migratory bird that nests here especially during its breeding season, was given by the founder Gabriella Belloni, who is still active, together with her daughter Lucilla, in managing the establishment.

The souls of the Gruccione

“The role of a scattered hotel in a small village is to be a true custodian of a territory. A revolutionary and resilient act of enterprise, affirming the beauty of unconventional places to give voice once again, throughout the world, to the land as well as to people.”
These are the words of Gabriella Belloni, Roman by birth but forever Sardinian at heart and soul, who in 2002 decided to transform the old family residence into the Gruccione project. Her daughter Lucilla, born in Milan, in that very same year chose to move to Sardinia to manage, expand and give a future to that small yet great project. Thanks to them, and to their thirteen loyal collaborators, the residence today is not just hospitality and dining, but so much more.

The projects

“Its mission,” Lucilla tells us, “is a life project and a plan for local development: the rooms are located in buildings that belong to the historic fabric of the town; the food served is the fine produce of the local economies that care for the land and animals; the services that accompany the hospitality offer promote the value and results of material culture.”

And so at the Gruccione, workshops are organised on traditional Sardinian pasta, rigorously handmade with slow, steady, precise and scrupulous gestures. But also on cheese-making with the course Le Forme del Latte (“The Shapes of Milk”) and on viticulture and practices supporting natural farming.

All this finds a place in the Bottega del Gruccione, a small shop in the inner courtyard of the main residence, where one can find food products, but also fabrics, books, small utensils and gift ideas. But the Gruccione is also about music culture. Eleven years ago the Vulcani Blues Festival in Montiferru was launched, and every summer several evenings are dedicated to blues concerts featuring local artists and international guests. Here too, the idea is to combine music culture with agri-food culture, with the initiative being supported by small local producers of oil, cheese, wine, beer.

What is eaten and drunk at the Gruccione

A single menu, five courses, but in constant change, almost daily depending — not only on the seasonality of the products — but on their daily availability. The suppliers are exclusively the small artisans of the area: breeders, cheesemakers and farmers.

There is all of Sardinia in the ingredients, but above all in the recipes: some remain faithful to tradition, others add that touch of healthy modernity, which after all has characterised the island’s cuisine for centuries. A great deal of space is given to vegetables and greens so that, despite there being only one choice, fully vegetarian or vegan menus are available. Meals are served in the main hall with its fireplace in winter, or in the inner courtyard among centuries-old plants in summer.

Among the dishes we find chopped beef of the Bruno-Sarda breed, saffron tortelli with braised sheep, and casizolu crème brûlée. Great care is dedicated to wines. The journey begins with the region and then makes its way through Italy, without forgetting the finest French productions, always in the spirit of craftsmanship. And for those staying overnight, the awakening offers the very best at breakfast: local cheeses, jams, various homemade cakes, fresh bread, eggs, and biscuits just out of the oven.

An authentic place, then, quiet, real and tangible. Anchored in the beautiful things of the past, yet projected towards a future that seeks to be even more beautiful.