Sabine and Armin Pernstich of Ansitz Romani in Termeno about swimming in unknown waters, silkworms, mulberries, and how sometimes naiveté can luckily replace courage.

Historic: The Ansitz Romani dates back to the 14th century. When and how did the two of you gain possession of it?

Sabine and Armin Pernstich
Hosts at the Ansitz Romani
Armin Pernstich: My father always wanted to buy the house, even when the previous owner was still alive. He was a bit peculiar, though, and refused to sell. When he died, the house was on sale and my father’s attention was drawn to it. I was 32 or 33 years old at the time and worked in Munich as a cook. My parents called me to say they had found a place where one could set up a restaurant.
Is your family from Tremino?
Armin: Yes, I grew up here.
Sabine Pernstich: I am from Bolzano. Raised in San Maurizio.
How did you proceed in reconstructing the Ansitz? Was it a family project?
Armin: It was mostly my project. My father and mother supported me in organisational matters, as did my wife.
Sabine: My job mainly involved clearing out rubbish. (Laughs.) Our children were pretty small at the time, also I was still working. I did not start here full time until 2011 when we opened the place to guests.

A tasteful atmosphere. Ansitz Romani, Termeno.
Sometimes it’s better not to know what you are getting yourself into…
Sabine: I like to say: You need a certain naiveté to get things done or you would never have the courage. I plunged in at the deep end, overnight. I didn’t even know how a computer worked. As a nurse you didn’t need a computer at the time, you wrote everything by hand! But things grow on you, bit by bit. You get into the water and as you swim you learn how to swim better and better.
Guests value the Ansitz Romani not just as a place to stay but also as a restaurant. How does it feel to cook within these ancient walls?
Armin: The vaults have a very special atmosphere. It was a little peculiar in the beginning. These buildings have their irks and quirks, they haven’t been planned on the drawing board. So, one has to adapt. But what I like about the restaurant business is that I can keep in touch with people rather than being shut of completely.
Who is the architect that helped you with the reconstruction?
Armin: Zeno Bampi. He has done many similar projects before, some of them with my family. And he was the driving force in this case as well. We wanted reconstruction to be as gentle as possible to preserve the building’s character. Zeno Bampi is someone who simplifies things. He started by saying: Clear out, everything has to go! Then do a repaint and that’s it. (Laughs.) In the end, it turned out to be a little bit more elaborate, but in its core he wasn’t wrong. When you do too much, you destroy what makes the building genuine. Which is why we left many things in the restaurant the way they were.
»You need a certain naiveté to get things done or you would never have the courage.«

Ansitz Romani
Surrounded by grapevines, on the slightly ascending western side of the lower Etschtal Valley, stands the venerable Ansitz Romani in Termeno at the Alto Adige Wine Road.

»When you do too much, you destroy what makes the building genuine.«
Was this a residential building before?
Armin: Yes, there were simple rental flats on the upper floors. But nothing had been done for a long time: there was no heating, no real plumbing system. Everything was really run-down. The previous owner had made a few changes that later turned out to be bad ideas¾but at least they were not as invasive as other reconstructive measures in the 1970s and 1980s, when some buildings were changed so fundamentally that you cannot build them back today.
The beautiful façade stands out…
Armin: We didn’t really do anything with the façade. It was just rather weather-beaten and overgrown with plants that had torn out the plaster over time. So we mended the holes in the plaster, which was still a lot of work, of course. The whole building was scaffolded. And since it’s landmarked, there were four or five conservators at work for quite some time. (Laughs.) The roof we had to replace. We also removed the top subceiling, which was dilapidated and sagging. We took out the wooden floors and then put some parts of them back in.
Sabine: I remember saying to a guest right before our opening: I look forward to everything being finished. And he replied: ‘Frau Pernstich, it will never be finished.’ I didn’t know what he meant¾but know I do. It’s true, and it’s okay. After all, people change all the time, too.
What about the building next door?
Armin: That was a barn, but completely made of stone. At the crown it was at least three metres higher than it is today; seen from the valley, the next-door building seemed more dominant than the actual Ansitz. We lowered it and put a new roof on it, also it is now lime-plastered. This natural pigment helps us visually approximate the original a bit. On the inside, we wanted to make the building a little more modern, though, with a concrete terrazzo floor and an open staircase.
What was the original purpose of the barn?
Armin: It accommodated the silkworms that the Romani family bred. They Romanis were a prominent family in the village. Making silk was one of the main sources of income in this area in the late 19th century. There are quite a few mulberry trees around here, harking back to that time. The leaves of the white mulberry were fed to the worms.
Do you live in the Ansitz yourselves?
Sabine: We do, on the top floor. It makes things more relaxed than before. You can receive guests and then go directly back upstairs. Many people thought we were mad to move in. But for me, it is much more strenuous to rely on my car going back and forth. When I close the door upstairs, that gives me the healthy distance I need. But our guests are still welcome to reach out anytime.





Mansion Romani *****
Via Andreas Hofer 23
39040 Termeno, South Tyrol
+39 0471 860 010