When you arrive at Ristorante Villa Brignole you will be tempted to drive past it. "Ah, that's not a villa, it's a castle!" you might think.

But you stop to snoop around a bit. The sign on the open gate assures you that if you go up the stairs in front of you, you will indeed find a place to eat like the landed gentry have eaten, with all the rural delights you might expect. If you've arrived in autumn, you are likely to find porcini mushrooms and black truffles on the menu, as we did in late October, for example.

The menu is brimming with the traditional foods of La Lunigiana, all done very, very well.

Then there was the ravioli with the ragu of Chianina, served with a white or red ragu, meaning with or without tomatoes. I chose the white ragu, and it was an excellent choice. Tomatoes weren't always a part of Italian, or more correctly, Tuscan cuisine.

The house wine was excellent, available by the glass (calice) in 1/4, 1/2, and a full liter.

After you've had your coffee (and tried the local digestivi if you're curious), you wind through the many rooms of the restaurant and pay your bill at the desk.

You are now free to explore the area around Villa Brignole, part of the village of Gavedo, which features the Viale della Rimembranza, the street the villa is on, which pays homage to the local war dead, starting in WW1, and which you've just walked down if you took a left out of the gate.