In the MONTI E CIELO company, on the slopes of Spera in Castel Ivano (TN), Francesco Paterno — born in 2000 — chose to get involved in the first person: he took over the family legacy and transformed it into his project, with courage, study and daily work. Here the small fruits grow in a lively landscape of chestnut groves, hedges, a pond, bees and farm animals. The roots lie in the family reality founded in the late 90s, based from the beginning on organic and biodynamic agriculture: cultivating means bringing life and weaving relationships, with people and with nature. Behind the woods and the Lagorai chain; downstream, the view embraces the villages
of Valsugana.For more than twenty years Elena Vendrame and Paolo Paterno have made biodiversity a concrete choice. Today Francesco collects that witness and relaunches it: he runs a certified organic farm that supports his father's biodynamic reality, keeping education and hospitality at the social center. He didn't just “continue”: he studied (ITI Trento, mechanics and energy; FEM professional agricultural patent), traveled and volunteered in Central and South America and Zimbabwe, bringing back home technical skills and strong
social responsibility.In 2025 he opened Monti e Cielo, obtained the contribution for the first settlement and invested where he really needed it: 8,000 m² in total — 6,000 m² of small fruits under insect nets, the rest between chestnut and lawn — effective roofing, organization of work. Concrete choices, as a young entrepreneur who focuses on quality and economic and environmental sustainability.
Main crops: first blueberry, then blackberry, currant and remontant raspberry. There are about 18 blueberry varieties, selected for taste, size and ripening schedule, so as to guarantee continuity of harvest and a rich organoleptic profile.
The toughest challenge? Protect fruits from Drosophila suzukii, the fly that strikes when ripe, when it cannot be treated. Francesco tackles the problem with method and perseverance: bio-traps, dedicated networks and tunnels, constant monitoring. It is a patient job, made up of prevention and timely technical choices.
Blueberries love acidic soils: in MONTI E CIELO they find naturally acidic and very fertile soil. Soil analysis confirms high vitality and excellent fertility; the fruits that are born from them have high-level nutritional and organoleptic qualities.
Francesco's is an agriculture of relationships: with GAS and schools (an educational farm active in the family), with seasonal workers — often the same for years, now a close-knit team — and with those who join him in the countryside to learn up close how small fruits are grown.
Blueberries, currants, raspberries and blackberries arrive at the stores served by the cooperative and in proposals to GAS during the summer. It is the result of the commitment of a young farmer who had the courage to take responsibility for the future, rooting it in the land of
his home.
