Grotto Flora B&B

The history of the Grotto Flora begins a long time ago...in 1920, when in September Mrs. Flora (née Wolf), originally from Val Calanca, opened with her husband Alberto Bettosini (born in Agra) a small grotto located in the beautiful village of  Agra, at the top of the sunny Collina d'Oro, to be precise in the nucleus of Bigogno.

The local wine and soda sipped in the shade of the plants, accompanied by local salami and cheese gave customers great pleasure and refreshment.

As the years went by, patrons increased and thus moved their business inside the house where Grotto Flora still stands today.

Homemade charcuterie slices (right where they had started their business) and great baked stews with polenta cooked by the fireplace were the specialties they offered to their customers.

Flora and Alberto had five children-Armida, Silvio, Lucia, Olga, and Alberto. They grew up and left their home in search of wives or husbands, except one: Silvio.

Silvio Bettosini, born in the summer of 1922, bought the grotto from his parents and made it his mission starting in 1942.

This became even more exciting and challenging with the conquest of his beloved Käthe, the German young lady who fled the war in West Germany and found herself as housekeeper to a wealthy lady, Mrs. Valz, who lived right next to the Grotto.

From 1950 to 1985, Silvio and Käthe worked hard to win over local and transalpine clientele.

The traditional menu included a charcuterie appetizer with pickles, risotto with porcini mushrooms and saffron, and grilled meats. For the holidays Käthe would cook roast suckling pig with roast potatoes for hours. All strictly homemade!

One of the first grilled chickens on the hill was made by Silvio himself, and everyone was crazy about it!

In turn, Käthe and Silvio had 5 children-Silvia, Carlo, Flora, Claudio and Aldo.

This generation helped Silvio a lot with farm work, and the daughters assisted Käthe with household chores. Gradually the children left home and, as in the best fairy tales, all but one: Flora.

Flora kept the inspiration of her father and mother and since 1985, together with her husband Nene (Enzo) began the third generation of Grotto Flora.

The menu remained the same since it was a winning formula and popular with the clientele, also from three generations (grandparents came with grandchildren!).

Mixed appetizers, risotto with fughi and saffron, grilled meats and zabaglione!!

And like any self-respecting story, Flora and Enzo also had 4 children: Fiorenzo, Tiziana, Graziella and Maurizio.

In 2004 after the children left the house and after major work, the purchase of the patrician house "Casa Adamini".

Flora and Enzo transformed with great effort, a huge disused house into a great bed and breakfast.

Composed of 9 rooms, all different and especially cared for by Flora.

In 2011, the eldest son, Fiorenzo, joined the Grotto Flora team, bringing with him a lot of experience gained in the kitchens of large 5-star hotels such as the Villa Principe Leopoldo in Gentilino.

Fiorenzo brings a breath of "fresh air" to Grotto Flora.

A new kitchen and a modern workshop give Grotto Flora the space it needs to produce the essentials for its increasingly busy and demanding clientele.

In 2016 Fiorenzo left Grotto Flora to immerse himself in a new professional adventure, a grotto of his own. The Grotto Zotta in Bioggio.

To the rescue of the great demands via the Internet, the third daughter, Graziella, who graduated from Bellinzona Hotel School in 2009, joins the team as receptionist at Grotto Flora.