The village of Ecolozzo
is a marvellous example of equilibrium between human settlement
and respect of nature.
Unfortunately the tourist flow towards the village has been in
the last years a source of problems for its huge impact on environment.
In particular the rash behaviour of few irresponsibles caused
environmental damages that have induced the local authorities
to temporarily suspend the tourist access.
Some example: a few years ago a tourist has unexpectedly crossed
the characteristic "Vipers' forest",
an integral natural reserve, wearing rubber boots: at least six
exemplars of Vipera aspis had their buccal apparatus damaged
as they tried to bite him.
In the same period another visitor has slaughtered a tiger mosquito
(Aëdes albopictus) endangering the survival of this
species in the Ecolozzo natural habitat.
Moreover the presence of a large number of tourists, (in an occasion
even four persons have been counted in the village at the same
time), have altered the atmosphere in a decisive and probably
irreversible way, increasing the temperature and humidity and
carbon dioxide rates in the air.
The local tourist operators press for a reopening of Ecolozzo
to the tourism, which is anyway possible just if preventive measures
will be adopted, like closed number (not more than a tourist in
a month) and some limitations (avoiding to produce excrements
and/or breathing).
It remains anyway the problem of the introduction, caused by the
tourists, of pathogenic germs or even of others being just saprophite,
but strangers to the ecosystem, even if this problem seems to
be solvable with the simple preventive boiling (for at least 120
minutes) of every tourist who means to approach the Ecolozzo territory.
Gastronomy
Ecolozzo cooking is
closely tied to tradition, therefore it is extremely respectful
of nature and has a low impact on the atmosphere.
Between the typical pasta courses we can mention soy bucatini
amatriciana of organic turnips, puttanesca miso, spaghetti tofu
and pepper and rigatoni with macrobiotic vegetal pajata.
The most appreciated main course is soy lamb hunters' style, with
side dish of barley sprouts jewish style.
The typical sweets are Master Geppetto
cookies, with their very high fiber content that, apart from
being good for intestinal motility, allows to recycle and re-use
the by-products of local carpenter's shops.
Between the renowned wines of the village we mention soy
Barolo QWS, with its intriguing flavours of violet, lily of
the valley, vanilla, bitter almonds, rose, tamarind, strawberry,
pistachio nut and smurf, and with its delicate after-taste of
broom, turpentine, circular-road and Toscano cigar.
We cannot forget to mention Ecolozzo mineral water, "Blue Foam", with no preservatives
added, with its peculiar diuretic properties: the mere consumption
of five or six liters of this water unfailingly bears a plentiful
elimination of urine, with a depurative effect. For these therapeutic
properties its price (29,99 euro per liter) seems entirely justified.
Restaurants
Also the Ecolozzo
restaurants have all a low environmental impact, the most trendy
is "Nature galore", where you can enjoy a 80
Euro fixed-price menu, that allows to consume food at one's pleasure.
The restaurant, for the respect of the environment, consists of
a 1000 square meters piece of forest, in which customers can provide
themselves with all the food they want, but limiting strictly
to vegetables.
A cheaper restaurant is the "Gandhi" in which
a 70 Euro fixed-price menu allows an absolute fast and a group
meditation; the incense must be paid separately.
The "Laughing Oak" (fixed-price menu: 75 Euro)
is renowned for its mash of organic acorns, served in typical
Tirol fir wood troughs.
Hospitality
The best hotel in the village is Ecohotel (awarded four
stars) where, in order to reduce energy and water waste, the sheets
are never washed (since 1958), even if they are however changed
every day, with those of another room. Price per night: 200 Euro
per person.
The Wildlife Resort (four stars) allows an intimate contact
with nature, spending the night on a natural
grassy surface, that anyway must be cleared at dawn, in order
to let the sheep pasture. Price per night: 180 euro per person
(in case of rain it is possible to ask for shelter in the sheepfold,
if the shepherd agrees, with a supplement of 190 Euro per person).
The Nature Inn (four stars) is suitable for those who need
to resolve vertebral column problems not trusting to invasive
medical cares. It is therefore possible to spend the night in
vertical decubitus, leaning against a wall, with the aid of assistants
who prevent the customer from taking incorrect positions (laying
down or sitting) by means of 2000 volts electric goads.
In order to favour the healing by taking advantage of the group
synergies, the customers spend the night in an common hall, not
heated and sheltered by a wall only on one side, to improve the
ventilation.
Seeing the therapeutic value of the stay, the price per person
is 500 Euro per night.
For those who prefer the stay in farm holidays we recommend the
"S. Laver" farm where the simple traditional
dishes, like the spelt bowl, taste better after a stimulant working
day of 18 consecutive hours, in contact with the nature, picking
tomatoes.
Handicraft
Like every Ecolozzo
production, even handicraft has a low impact on environment: the
typical products are paper-weight pebbles
(120 Euro), knick-knack pebbles (140
Euro) and door-stop pebbles (100 Euro).
Other fancy objects are the paper bags filled with road dust with
"souvenir of Ecolozzo" written on (170 Euro), the t-shirts
found between the trash of the used clothes market (400 Euro,
450 if without fleas) and the little puppets made of earwax and
navel cotton, a handicraft product unique in the world (200 Euro).
How to
get there
To respect the environmentalist vocation of Ecolozzo, the village
is not reached by any motor vehicle, but only by animal traction
vehicles.
To respect animal welfare, no animal can be used to pull a vehicle,
therefore animal traction is provided by human beings.
At the entrance of Ecolozzo territory, therefore, tourists can
apply to the rickshaw service of the bulky (140 kg) Master
Peppone, owner of "Peppone fast lines" company.
To respect the human and professional dignity of Master Peppone,
who is also very irascible, it is therefore possible for the visitors
to carry in the village the same Master Peppone, on board of his
rickshaw.
The fare is 50 Euro, and with an extra charge of 100 Euro it is
even possible to try to convince Master Peppone not to use the
whip, even if not always it is easy to persuade the lively entrepreneur,
especially when he is drunk, as it happens very frequently.
The transport, besides of being respectful of the environment,
is also good for physical fitness, especially in the final 20
km climb leading to the village, when the altitude on the sea
level increases from 100 to 950 meters.
Contacts
In Ecolozzo there's no electric energy, therefore no telephone,
telegraph nor e-mail can be available. For information or reservations
contact telepathically Mario or Pino, but just when they are not
engaged.
page
created: May
18th 2007 and last updated: March 8th 2015