Val di Daone as told by Damiano
Cheesemaker and alpine pasture manager at Malga Lavanech, 1,783 metres above sea level, Damiano likes to call himself “the gardener” of this Alpine paradise, where nothing is left to chance.
Who is Damiano?
Damiano Filosi has been living in Val di Daone since 2013. He comes from an agricultural, forestry and environmental background. To launch and grow his dream, he studies, experiences and learns from those who know more.
He took cheesemaker’s courses at the Dairy Institute in Moretta, worked for several seasons in Airolo, in the Valley of the Gotthard massif (Ticino Canton, Switzerland) and finally, at the Fem (Edmund Mach Foundation in San Michele all’Adige) where he studied the agricultural entrepreneur course. Eight years ago, he decided to stop and put down roots in his father’s home town of Sevror.
He began by renovating his great-grandfather’s house, then he rented a barn, bought his first cows and started producing milk, cheese and butter. He dreamt of opening his own farm. Its name? Malga Lavanech, in the municipality of Valdaone. He has been running it for eight years with love, passion and care.
My passion: raising grazing cows and making butter. I like to call myself “the gardener” of my territory.
Why Val di Daone?
Damiano lives in one of the side valleys of Val di Daone: at Malga Lavanech, at 1,783 metres above sea level, the vegetation opens out onto a large and panoramic alpine pasture overlooking the valley below and a little further on, the entire Valle del Chiese. From his cottage you can see others, hanging on the border between the pastures and rock. The valley floor is busy, but up here there are unknown side valleys, where “you might find yourself alone even during the August bank holiday week”.
An Alpine paradise, where nothing is left to chance. Every step is a discovery, every gesture is made with Damiano’s head, hands and heart.
“I am fond of this place, because I feel it is mine, I keep it well cared for, I clean it of nettles and saplings growing in the pasture. It is no coincidence that I like to call myself “the gardener”. If I did not take care of it, this place would be gone in a decade.
It is somewhere outside the traditional tourist destinations. You have to be willing to walk, to struggle, to be curious about what is “beyond”. To find out which animals inhabit this place and to meet the people who live here”.
Damiano is keen to emphasise that this is indeed an authentic, special and true valley. The feeling you are left with once you have said goodbye to Damiano, his family and his Malga Lavanech, is one of harmony and kindness. Of places, people and feelings.
