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"Le Capannelle" Dog Center in Montorsaio: a 5-star resort for dogs and cats

Giovanni Nati knew that sooner or later the inspiration would arrive and just like that, in 1998, during a holiday / study in northern to educate / train himself with his dog, he understood that "Le Capannelle di Montorsaio" (we are in , near , fourteen kilometers from ) would become the frst Dog Center in Maremma: a farmhouse for dogs and cats!

BY MARINA VALMARANA

The Agritourism Company "Le Several other memories from books In 1825c the Capannelle tavern Capannelle" of Montorsaio is located in and newspapers of the 19th century belonged to Giovanni Vannuccic son of Tuscany, fourteen kilometers from passed on the testmony of many Domenicoc who also owned many Grosseto. Talking with Giovan Batsta wayfarers' adventures and brigandage lands around the territory and in 1843 Nati, owner of Le Capannelle, I have acts of old tmesc all of that available Giovambatsta Nat bought itc while in discovered that this place, where now a in our farmhouse for any consultaton 1858c afer the death of high quality dog center stands, is also a during your welcomed visit". Giovambatstac occurred in 1856c the place rich in history. property passed on to his son The words of Giovanni intrigue me: Francesco Innocenzo Ferdinando. "Originally the farm was an ancient it is nice to see this historical aspect so post ofcec wherec as early as 1300c deeply rooted and still present in this Todayc the whole Giovan Batsta travelers and their horses found place, so I decide to do my own litle family has been reduced to a single refuge along the way from Sienac or personal research and I fnd out that: malec who has the same name of his from Monte Amiatac to Grosseto. In grandfather and stll lives in the this place rich in historyc we wanted "The Nat family was linked to the Capannelle of Montorsaio". to create a breeding and a hospitality patronage of the Capannellec on which center for petsc immersed in the green many curious stories were told. For Source: Montorsaio and his families by of Maremmac a real farmhouse "for examplec on the 7th of Augustc 1832c Tamara Gigli Sanesi - Ministry for four-legged" animals. in the area of Chiusa and Casalinic on Cultural Heritage and Actvites - the vineyard roadsc which climbs from Archive of Grosseto - Administraton The frst writen local atestatons the Capannelle of Montorsaioc of the Civic Uses of Montorsaioc date back to the visit of Bartolomeo Pasquale Giannetc nicknamed Grosseto 2007 Gherardini to the Community of Milanimac killed his partner Luigi Montorsaio in the year 1676 A.D. Appirellic called Girellic due to a game (from cf) when Sienac sovereign of issue arisen in the Capannelle tavern. these territoriesc verifed through its In that summer the inn was owned by representatves the solidity of their Lino Benocci and his wife Vitoriac possessions. At that tmec the "Ostaria daughter of Giovanni Vaccari and delle Capannelle"c being part of the Margherita Cort. 85 "The Rota of Montorsaio courtc was described as a Grosseto (the insttuton for crimes at vineyard cultvated placec in which that tme) condemned Mr Giannet to there were four households and not fve years of confnement in Massa many people. Maritma." Today Giovanni lives in Le Michela, to train their Dobermann, he indispensable for the functioning of Capannelle with his three sons understood that Le Capannelle would the dog center. Francesco, Lorenzo and Riccardo. become the frst Dog Center in Giovanni continues his story: Maremma: a farmhouse for dogs and The historical location of Le cats! The beginning was characterized by Capannelle helps us to understand the Therefore, Giovanni and Michela a huge economic investmentc higher reason for Giovanni's atachment to decide to devote themselves to than expectedc in order to have a this piece of Maremma. Born and hospitality, breeding and dog trekking. quality center andc at the same tmec raised in Grosseto, in 1989 he decided The breeding, followed with great to preserve a place rich in history". to start a restoration that is still passion by Michela, was based on ongoing. Border Collie and Petit Basset Grifon Talking about the present, we can Vendéen. see how thankful Giovanni is to his A lover of the countryside and collaborators for the work they do: passionate about the area, he has In 2011, the professional and always respected this place and the personal separation between Giovanni "When the animals are guests of spirit contained in it. The idea and the and Michela took place. Giovanni the centerc it ofen takes placec where goal have always been to recover, to continues with the hospitality at Le necessaryc a sort of re-educaton. save, not to destroy and then rebuild, Capannelle, Michela moves to another Francescac Sonia and Agnese are not with the intention that the past and place and continues with success and just looking afer our four-legged the present were not so distant. passion her activity as a dog breeder guestsc using their love and passionc and educator. they can take care of examples of When the renovation begins, From that moment on, the strong "aggressive behaviour" from Giovanni wants to turn this country prepared and competent staf, who some specimen. Using elements such house into a place of interest and already cooperated with the dog as a correct management of the dogc work, not just for holidays, in this way structure, becomes a real "team" the afectonc the respect of the rules the connection with Le Capannelle under the direction of Giovanni with a and the controlled freedomc we can would become even stronger. single objective: to ofer hospitality, encourage every complicated courtesy and high quality standards at specimens to trust again the man and Giovanni knew that sooner or later an afordable cost. to slowly lose the excessive the inspiration would arrive and just aggressiveness". like that, during a holiday / study in To this date, Francesca, Sonia northern Italy to educate / prepare and Agnese are essential and himself with his dog, with his wife

The staf ••••

Giovanni Nati: "The Center wants to become a reference point for all dog lovers, initiatives promoter and meetings where dog fans can exchange information and suggestions that could help them to interact beter with their four-legged friends ".

Taking a walk in the Center, Giovanni "The Center is a model structurec preparaton of the "chow". We provide explains to me that: "the guests are efcient and modernc in accordance a high quality foodc but if necessary you heterogeneous and also the duraton of with the laws in this area. can bring your dog's regular meal. If the stay is very variable. The main requiredc we can perform treatmentsc reason that leads the four-legged The boxes have an area of eight but only if prescribed by the animals to Le Capannelle is basically square meters eachc with a quartz veterinarian. the "owners" vacaton. It can also concrete basec treated with a suitable happen that a person can not take care water-repellent paint (not to keep Insteadc if you want to have the dog of his litle friend because he has to be germs and bad smells) and equipped checked at our structurec we provide hospitalized or because of a movec a with heatng for a comfortable stay the brand new veterinary clinicc transfer where he is unable to take the even in the coldest periods. For the exclusively intended for our guestsc and animal with himc the birth of a baby most demandingc we also have fully not available to external visits". (especially in cases of aggressive enclosed boxesc which are heated too. animals)". The walls and roofs are insulatedc our One of the things that has struck me daily care is to clean and disinfect the most about this reality is the great There are 30 boxes for dogs, with 12 boxes. importance that Giovanni and his independent spaces for stretching, Every morning all the dogs are taken collaborators give to the afective then there are 8 large boxes for cats out of the boxes to be conducted in the aspect towards not only the 4-legged with every comfort (balconies, so-called "stretching spaces"c green guests but also their families. I am scratching posts...). areas intended for play and constantly in touch with their families socializatonc while the workers provide to tell them how the puppies are, for the boxes internal cleaning and the photos are sent regularly to make them feel less alone and to alleviate the technical and structural solutonsc For any further curiosity, I advise you melancholy. It is very important that techniques in contnuous dynamic to personally visit Le Capannelle, you the owner is kept up to date on his evoluton that guarantee the highest will surely discover a beautiful world for four-legged friend. quality of services. From the constant our four-legged friends, a very high comparison with the other dog fans quality "resort"! I asked Giovanni what plans he has and dog lover expertsc the "Dog for the future. Culture" develops and evolves. Info: Capannelle di Montorsaio - "For the futurec in additon to the Fraz. Montorsaio 36, 58042 contnuous improvement to increase The Center wants to become a CAMPAGNATICO the quality of our guests stayc we plan reference point for all dog loversc (Grosseto), Toscana; Giovanni: to build some semi-detached wooden initatves promoter and meetngs +39 333 2958259 Staf: +39 333 houses with small garden of relevance where dog fans can exchange 2958260; sito: dedicated to small dogsc other areas of informaton and suggestons that could www.lecapannelledimontorsaio. stretching and constantly refning the help them to interact beter with the it - mail: existng structure. Howeverc I would their four-legged friends". info@lecapannelledimontorsaio. like to highlight how the ordinary it; GPS +42° 87’ 47.24”, maintenance of the structure in itselfc After my visit, I have relected on +11° 20’ 62.99”; Facebook e Youtube: combined with that one of the green how many beautiful initiatives and Centro Cinoflo Le Capannelle di that frames itc takes up a lot of tmee important realities there are in our Montorsaio territory. We stay in touch with every other dog center to keep up with the best