ADVERTISEMENTThree months ago, 50-year-old Manuela Ferri was a physiotherapist living in the Italian city of Vicenza. Now, she is the manager of a remote mountain lodge in the country’s Trento region.
Manuela and her husband have taken over the running of Rifugio Peller, swapping lives full of cars and chaos for clean air and staggering scenery.
For Manuela, it is the dream of a lifetime, but it also comes with a lot of work and adjusting to a new way of life.
Here’s what it’s like to spend a summer at a rifugio - a rustic mountain hotel with simple accommodation and a restaurant - 2,000 metres above sea level.
‘I’m living out my dream’
“My husband and I have always been lovers of the mountains, even as children,” Manuela explains.
But recently, there came a moment when the universe seemed to be orchestrating a more permanent relocation to the mountains for the couple.
“My husband had a carpentry business but had to close in December because he was working alone and I have a physiotherapy studio that I can put on hold for the summer season,” Manuela says.
“We were both tired of doing the same things and living within four walls, and everything just came together in the right way.”
That said, their first attempts to apply for the management of a rifugio near their home in Vicenza were not successful, so they had to look further afield.
Rifugio Peller some 200 kilometres north became available and they sent in their application along with 15 other hopefuls.
The couple were successful thanks to their experience working with people and their proposal for how they would run the rifugio.
“In a way, it’s the same kind of job as I was doing before, just higher up and with a better view,” jokes Manuela.
What it’s like to run a remote mountain rifugio
There are hundreds of rifugi dotted throughout Italy’s mountain ranges, from tiny unmanned huts to structures with accommodation and restaurants.
What they tend to have in common is being remote and unconnected to the grid or water supplies.
Rifugio Peller has 31 beds and a restaurant serving local specialities. Food and other supplies arrive at a nearby car park where the rifugio staff collect them in their pickup.
ADVERTISEMENTElectricity comes from a generator and solar panels, while water comes from tanks that collect rain.
The water supply is one concern of Manuela’s as Italy swelters amid another scorching summer.
“We are careful with water use and expect our guests to be too, such as taking short showers,” says Manuela.
“But other years the rifugio has run out of water by the end of the season and the local authorities have to bring a supply by helicopter.”
ADVERTISEMENTThe management is a family affair, with Manuela in contact with guests, her brother Gabriele running the website and her husband Rivael in charge of maintenance.
Throughout the summer, the rifugio will host various events including a musical evening with a local choir, lessons in how to gather and use medical herbs and a “sound bath” with musicians playing digeridoos, gongs and bells.
“We don’t have much of a routine at the moment having just started,” Manuela says, “it’s 24 hours on!”
“It’s chaotic, but what relaxes us is the fresh air and the panorama. It’s a total change of lifestyle and that is giving us energy.”
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