Corrado Benedetti, the flavor of Lessinia and Valpolicella.

It is said that during wartime in these areas there lived a bandit. A smuggler who always carried with him a gun. One day the man was seen and arrested by the authorities. Realizing he was caught, the bandit told his story and the reason for his actions, which aimed to feed himself and his family. Touched by his sentiment, the gendarmes let the bandit go, who promised to place a cross in that spot as a symbol of the humanity shown.
Thus was born the Cross of the Gun.

Corrado Benedetti is born and raised here, and his story is strengthened precisely by the land he comes from, by the deep spirit he carries with him. The small village and the crossroads leading to the ancient natural stone bridge of Veja remain today fascinating places that represent a boundary between the higher Valpolicella and the plateau of Lessinia. You reach it after a series of winding roads that go through the high Negrar Valley in classic Valpolicella, among the majestic and ancient vineyards of Amarone. Places of worship that bear names recognized worldwide for the quality of wines they express: Villa, Mazzano, Torbe. Then the vineyard begins to give way to the coppice forest and higher up to the tall beeches typical of the Veronese mountains. It is said that one day Dante Alighieri, in exile in Scaligera land, passed along this road. He went up to the mythical Ponte di Veja, from which he drew inspiration for the structure of his Divine Comedy. 

It is in this historical-geographic context that the Benedetti family has rooted its origins. A pleasant land, far from the glimmers of civilization, where humanity and reciprocity have always been the means for survival. Villages and districts of stone animated by the sacrifice and joy of simplicity. Ancient values of sincere and determined women and men. The Cross of the Gun is, in a sense, not only a boundary between the hill and the mountain, between the vineyard and pasture, between two different lifestyles: the Cross of the Gun is also an emblem of a historical passage for the Benedetti family, which, after starting as cheese makers under their grandfather Angelo up to his grandson Corrado, has followed an unhesitating path towards a broader and more structured identity. Among them, the important figures of Pasquina and Vittorio, the parents of Corrado, who consolidated the production and aging techniques of cheeses.

A long and arduous process, full of sacrifices and satisfactions. An initially winding path that found its right way with the arrival of son Corrado, a promising boy, in a sense visionary, who managed to translate the essence of this precious land into a business project that greatly enhances its history and tradition. Corrado revived the ancient cheesemaking and pork-butchery recipes from the Alta Valpolicella and Lessinia and reintroduced them in their purity and genuineness. But his winning card was the ability to approach contemporaneity by riding its styles and tastes without ever losing sight of quality and its history. He surrounded himself with a young and enterprising staff and conveyed the most important ingredient, that which is tasted every time one brings one of his creations to their mouth: passion! In his cured meats, in his cheeses, in his jams and gourmet preparations, everything is passion. 

A fruitful creativity, that of Corrado and his family, which in a few years has ensured a position of quality in the Venetian gastronomic landscape. A touch of genius that has sometimes introduced even new recipes, later adopted by many of his competitors. A pioneer who has never spared on the meaning of territoriality and belonging. 

Today the company Corrado Benedetti is involved in many activities such as processing cheeses and cured meats, producing jams and creams, local specialties typically from Verona. His deep attachment to this land and the Cross of the Gun has materialized even more in the opening of a beautiful space among the beech woods, a true living space that the company has named The Joyful Forest, where families can experience moments of pleasure and serenity, away from the traffic and confusion of modernity. Certainly, the family has always been a value for the Benedetti, the fundamental element of their success, and making this forest accessible to families is undoubtedly a more than tangible sign. 

It would be difficult to focus on specific products from the selection Corrado Benedetti, as we would risk doing a disservice to some historical creations and, in a way, to him as well. But one line surely stands out from the others because it represents the constructive spirit of a strong identity in Corrado's Valpolicella. I am referring to the production of cheeses and aged cured meats paired with the prince wine of these lands, Amarone. A very challenging path to certify all products under the auspices of the Consorzio della Valpolicella, and a great satisfaction for the possibility of transferring a new idea of interpenetration between flavors and values of a land in great evolution. 

Today, going up to the Cross of the Gun means ascending to a place of gastronomic worship, where one can visit the aging caves and taste the company’s delicacies in a fascinating context, immersed among the stones and pink marbles of Valpolicella. 

Today we no longer ascend armed with a gun, as that bandit did, but driven by the desire to discover a gourmet art that refreshes the soul and makes one dream with closed eyes.

Bernardo Pasquali

S&M