There is always a great passion behind a beautiful story.
The one of Mino Viacava, class of 1951, native from Portofino for six generations, is closely connected to the love for his land. “I was born in the Piazzetta of Portofino, I am the son of bricklayers, but with the heart of a “farmer”, he reveals. The results of this double soul have generated two entrepreneurial realities well established in the territory.

One is the construction company (Edile Portofino), legacy and evolution of his great- grandfather Emanuele Viacava’s work as a bricklayer, and then of the grandfather, Gerolamo, with a particular talent for restoring the friezes of historic villas, to the point that Baroness Mumm had called him to work for her at Saint George’s castle. Without forgetting his father Emanuele, who in the 1960s worked on the construction of the villas of some of the most important personalities of the time.

The second reality, is “La Portofinese”, the agricultural company that produces olive oil, wine, honey, marmalade, and even beer and organizes tailor made experiences linked to the territory for their guests. “I created it as sign of gratitude and respect for my ancestors, who reluctantly left their sharecroppers work to look for jobs in the village.

My grandfather always talked to me about the countryside, until his memories became my desire: I started by buying small plots of land, few olive groves, until arriving to the actual three hectares of cultivated fields on the slopes of the mountain, of the Natural Park of Portofino”. It’s well known that excellent wines are born in Liguria, but also the hops, the marmalade, the honey, have ancient roots here. Already in the eighteen centuries, the Benedictine monks of the Cervara Abbey cultivated hops for beer production, while near the hermitage of Saint’Antonio, a dozen friars have long practiced beekeeping.

“I simply resumed ancient traditions, trying to work the land as it had been done in the past, without the use of pesticides or other chemical, and through the use of clean energy such as mini wind turbines and photovoltaic solar panels” concludes Mino.
Before him, no one in Portofino had ever invested in the renewable energy.