Vërnerèa, artists house in Alps

Vërnerèa is a guesthouse part of an art residency arranged in the restored farm house with a reach history. Here artists from all over the world work on their projects. They prepare exhibitions, write scripts, record albums, shoot movies and make workshops. But here we also host other people giving them opportunity to become witnesses of art creation. Beside arts you can enjoy here incredible mountain views, have bath in waterfalls, try home authentic food and organic wine. Vërnerèa is recongized as one of the most beautiful hamlet in Rorà. During the Second World War, the place became a refuge for the jewish family of the artist Roberto Terracini. Hiding here because of the racial laws, he clandestinely continued to realize creative works, painting partisans and moments of rural life. Digital copies of his artworks, along with everything that keeps the unique history of this place, are included in the exposition of art-residency. But it's not the only unique fact about this place. Here you will make a lot of interesting discovers. The XIX century house was built with stones and strong chestnut wood beams on the hillside and has an incredible view of the brilliant green mountains. In front of the house there is an old oven, made as they used to do for ages. The furnace copes with its duties to this day, tantalising guests with the aromas of bread and pizza. Today luxury, the roof is laid with slabs of natural stone — a unique feature of the historical architecture of Val Pellice. For centuries, the stone has been mined here for construction and roofing purposes. Even the famous Mole Antonelliana in Turin is lined with Val Pellice stone. In addition, livestock and farming were common here. In the middle of the last century, most of the population moved to Turin. The mountains have returned to the forests; however, the families that remained in the valley, cherish the heritage and honor the traditions of their ancestors who settled here in the 13th century. The residence is just walking distance to a beautiful mountain stream where you can swim under the fresh waterfalls. It is definitely a successful routine to start the day. In the small village of Rorà with only 200 inhabitants, you will find two churches, a bar, a restaurant, a tennis court, a football field and even a museum representing how the local community was living during the 18th and 19th century. Another Waldesian Museum is in Torre Pellice, a small settlement ten minutes driving from the residence. Despite the fact that the population of Torre Pellice does not exceed 5000 citizens, the city life is very rich. Regular concerts: from organs and Jewish ensembles in temples, to blues and electronic music in pubs. Unique contemporary art exhibitions are presented in Tucci-Russo, one of the largest private galleries in Italy. Farmers' markets are on Fridays and Thursdays. Moreover many cultural Associations are based here: a curious example is Riuso, a large store managed by volunteers that collects second hand objects. In there you can find everything, from children’s games and books to water closets. The Astronomic Observatory of Val Pellice in Luserna San Giovanni is absolutely another worthwhile place to visit. Alessandro Sciaraffa, also a past resident at the Stone Oven House, collaborated with the Observatory and talked to the moon through a radio telescope: it was an astonishing public performance where everybody could send a vocal message to the moon and listen to the echo coming back. If you like hiking there are plenty of pathways to follow and several mountain huts where you can sleep overnight. In the summertime cows graze on high and a tasty cheese is made right there and sold once a week at the market down in the valley. Otherwise, if you miss the sea, in a one day trip you can take a bath in the Ligurian or French Riviera, and come back to sleep at the residence. The whole way by car takes no more than three hours, but you may be slower because in the road there are fantastic landscapes to photograph: the mountain road was cut out of the rocks beside a stream. Well, actually Turin, is just an hour driving from the residence - a large, full-fledged European city, with plenty of exhibitions, festivals, museums, art spaces and good food. For our guests we provide an entire apartment with a bedroom, living room, bathroom and kitchen. In the bedroom there is a big double bed, also we can add one single bed. There is a single bed in the living room. And it's possible to add one more. So up to 4-5 persons can stay in the apartment. With booking for more then 4 people we are ready to open the mansard for you. The maximum number of guests in the house is 13. Just keep in mind there are two bathrooms only. Anyway if you don not make instant booking and send us a note before, we can discuss the details and offer the most convenient option. Beside the basic house facilities you can use a fire place. But even this is not the most attractive part of the place. You have a big choice of attractions here. In front the house there is an old stone oven, which you are welcome to use. But if you are not experienced in using oven, you can come over to visit us in the neighbor house, where you can not just learn how to light a fire in a such oven, but you'll get a chance to taste our pizza and hot bread which we bake once a week or two. There are about 20000 square meters of land belonged to the house. You can install your hammock in the garden, you can walk in the woods, there is a huge field with a panoramic view. And of course you are welcome to visit our artistic community in the neighbor house located in 5 minutes walking distance. We are always ready to share our community table with guests. And we like when guests have something to share with us. Everybody is welcome to make a personal contribution and make this place better. There is always wood to chop, garden to water and plants to collect. Feel free to offer your help. But take it easy, do it only with pleasure. However we do have helpers and volunteers here. If you are lucky you can also see and participate in bread and pizza baking day or any other event of the residency. Winter and late autumn is pretty calm here but In summer time something interesting happens every week in the neighborhood, literally in the next house on the road: live concerts, art-workshops, exhibition openings and so on. Stone Oven House is a non-profit project and, to attend events here, you do not need to buy tickets. By the way, the tradition asks that people do not come here empty-handed. Grab something useful for the kitchen: cheese, flour, butter, wine or fruits. Any products and house accessories will be appropriate. Take something that you had not used for a long time: old utensils, tools and materials for repairs, furniture, pillows, blankets and even clothes - all this will find use, if not in the house, then in the artist's studio. In case if you have nothing to present, your monetary donation will support the project! Also you are welcome to share food with us! You can join us for breakfast, lunch and dinner whenever you want. We love cooking and traveling around the world we studied cuisines of different countries. So beside classical Italian dishes you can taste Chinese, Indian, Thai, Russian, French, South American... And of course you must taste our unique wine from local farms! Val-Pelice is the center of the Waldensian Church, which originated in Lyons in the 12th century. Waldesians did not recognize traditional rituals and indulgences; they advocated apostolic poverty, mutual aid, as well as worldly preaching and freedom of reading the Bible. Such a "democratic" attitude towards Christianity did not suit the Catholic feudal lords and for many centuries the Waldensians were subjected to cruel persecutions. The search for refuge led them to Val Pellice, an alpine valley, where they managed not only to escape, but also to preserve their identity. A very important characteristic of the Waldesians was schooling. In fact, in each hamlet there was a little school. The education program led, at the end of XIX century, the Waldesian area to one of the highest literacy rates in all of Europe. And today, despite the relative distance from the big cities, Val Pellice is famous for its rich cultural life. Literary and musical festivals, farm fairs, and exhibitions of contemporary art are held throughout the year. Stone Oven House now adds to the cultural and historical heritage of the valley. The nearest airport is in Turin (Turin-Caselle Airport). From there it takes about one hour driving to reach us. But usually there are more flights to Milan. From Milan is about 2–3 hours driving. The simplest option to reach us, if you drive and have enough money, is to rent a car and follow your GPS navigator. There is no public transport which can bring you right to the village beside a bus which you can take only on Friday morning during the farmer market in Luserna San Giovanni. But you can easily get a lift. Locals are quite friendly and nice to strangers and very often drive them to the downtown or back to the village. Please keep in mind that is a rural house surrounded by mountains. To heat the house you'll need to use fire wood. Be sure that you are experienced with stoves and fireplaces. But this is not the only difference from the city. There are a lot of wild animals around. They are not aggressive but they can make some strange noises. There are no such touristic attractions around like markets of useless souvenirs. If you see strange smoke in the woods, don't be afraid. It's probably clouds. we are at an altitude of 900 meters above sea. If you see strange lights in the night it's probably fireflies. They are not dangerous, just gorgeous. This weird trace in the night sky is not pollution, it's called Мilky Way, it's our Galaxy.