Location
La Foresteria dei Baldi is located in the charming residential complex of Cascina Pelizza, which is an antique “walled in structure” farmhouse in the Lombardy region, and was renovated starting in 1990.
Not very much remains of the original building, which was demolished by the owner, the engineer Mr. Ernesto Marozzi who built a new farmhouse between 1848 and 1850.
During those years Cascina Pelizza (which also included two smaller farms called Vignolo and Torchietto) was considered the perfect example of a well organized, fruitful and rich farmhouse. Around 1880 it reached an extention of 67 hectares, with about 100 grazing cattle.
Arriving from S. Lanfranco (South), the farmhouse was quite majestic, similar to a medieval castle.The building was painted and decorated, with a big clock tower. At that time the farmhouse included: the main house of the Cascina’s owner, the tenant's family house, peasants’ houses, the tower, a storehouse-granary, a pig shed, a cheese factory, the stable, the barn, the yard and vegetable gardens.
During the renovation work at the beginning of 1990, where La Foresteria dei Baldi is located today, some carpenter’s utensils were found, so we think that this was the carpenter’s house.
Today the entire farmhouse has been completely renovated and there are many families living here. Although it has lost its rural location, among its walls the antique allure of a lost world is still alive.
Bibliography:
Carlo Dell’Acqua, “Il Comune dei Corpi Santi di Pavia e Cà dè Tedioli Profili storici-descrittivi e memorie edite ed inedite sui fatti accaduti nel territorio dal 1524 al 1528 e sull’ assedio di Pavia del 1655”, Pavia, 1877.
Franco Presicci, “Cascine in Lombardia”, Milano, 1999.
