It was 1885 when the great-grandmother opened Manuelina Recco his tavern offering refreshments to travelers and peasants, passing trade and players “tresette”. The sign was a branch and favored the stops of the carters, the conductors of mules and travelers, or those of traders during the small cattle fairs, or the faithful of the nearby church. The wine tapped from the barrel and traditional dishes cooked with only local products, along with the mastery of the owner sanctioned the beginning of a long history of hospitality. Leave behind the painful memories of the Great War, Italy was ready to return to the carefree: the rich tourists of the Riviera leaving the refined banquets hotels to know that inn where the menu was handwritten, the dishes were exquisitely home and focaccia, so racy and crisp, never failed, like good wine. The early 50s are a particularly difficult time for the inn, orphan Manuelina and his daughter Vittoria only a few years earlier. However, under the leadership of his son and grandsons of the founder, Manuelina becomes a reference point for local residents and gourmet “Genova Well” animated by the desire to rediscover the pleasures of good food. The boom years enshrine the beginning of a long series of successes for Manuelina. With Gianni Carbone, husband of his niece Maria Rosa, came the first awards and in 1961 the restaurant receives Mortar Silver Festival of Ligurian cuisine. The famous Focaccia with Cheese also lands in the menus of Costa Cruises own under the name of “Manueline”. The nineties were years of revolutions and changes to Manuelina with the entrance in the company of the sons of Gianni, Cristina, Gloria and Caesar, and a change of venue, but without sacrificing taste for the reception and a story impossible to erase. Tino Buazelli, Corrado Pani, De Mita, Marina Doria, Paolo Villaggio, Aldo Fabrizi: celebrities of the century have come and gone around the tradition of Manuelina. With the change of century Manuelina grows and becomes a real brand: the renowned Manuelina Restaurant where tradition meets the sophistication and creativity of prestigious chefs and the popular 4-star hotel Manuelina La Villa, from the prestigious banqueting Parties & Receptions at Manuelina store dedicated to products enogastonomici and, of course, the inevitable Focacceria. Meanwhile, the Focaccia with cheese Recco, after a long gestation, has obtained the IGP and, today, we smile nell’immaginarci young Manuelina more than 125 years ago: I wonder if would ever have imagined! Sometimes special places become a meeting place for special people: so did Manuelina since its inception. In the First Postwar met Senator Biscaretti, founder of Fiat, the Ansaldo, the Dufour and Costa. The great poet D’Annunzio we devoted precious words by writing “I wrote the pleasure and you have served me.” Then came Einstein, who in his journey from Casteggio in Recco, stopped at our table to enjoy the famous focaccia. It was always so, in every age: it could happen to toast with Aldo Fabrizi and Tino Scotti, stay involved in a late-night conversation with Tino Buazelli, challenge table tennis or play Tresette Corrado Pani with De Mita, then President. Because as Umberto Eco wrote in The Foucault Pendulum: “Before Uscio there’s Manuelina, who has twelve stars on Michelin, all the fish we want. Manueline was full, with a line of customers guatavano the tables where the coffee was coming. ”
