At The Cottage With The Ziga Family Faccine Ciliegia Bra Verified
When the Ziga family finally received their verified badge across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube in late 2024, it caused a minor scandal. Purists argued that verification should go to celebrities, not to a family who films their grandmother falling asleep on a porch swing.
But the platforms defended the move. The Ziga account had been impersonated by over 40 fake pages selling counterfeit “cottage lifestyle” courses. More importantly, the content was deemed “of public interest” due to its documented revival of traditional orchard management and stone-masonry techniques.
The verification ceremony – if you could call it that – was itself a Ziga moment. No party. Just a family dinner under the ciliegia trees, eating brasato al Barolo (Bra’s famous wine-braised beef), and a single Instagram story: [Blue checkmark icon] “Fa niente. Mangiamo.” (It doesn’t matter. We eat.)
The cherry trees surrounding the cottage are over 60 years old. They produce a small, dark cherry called ciliegia di Ziga—not sold commercially, but used exclusively by the family.
The ciliegia preparation is a slow process: When the Ziga family finally received their verified
The result is a jam so deep in flavor that it has been described by Slow Food advocates as “a library of summer in a spoon.” At the cottage, ciliegia is slathered over fresh faccine, swirled into yogurt, or even paired with the bra verified cheese.
Bra Verified is a certification system originating from the famous cheese market in Bra, Piedmont. Unlike generic DOP or IGP labels, Bra Verified focuses on:
The Ziga family’s cottage holds Bra Verified status for their caprino morbido—a soft goat’s cheese aged for just 10 days. This cheese is creamy, slightly tangy, and melts beautifully when placed on a warm faccina brushed with ciliegia.
The word faccine—literally “little faces”—refers to small, hand-shaped dough figures that are baked until golden. Each member of the Ziga family, from 80-year-old Nonna Lucia to 7-year-old Marco, makes their own faccine. The result is a jam so deep in
Visitors are invited to make their own faccine in the morning. These are then baked alongside the family’s batch and eaten with dollops of fresh ricotta.
Ciliegia means cherry. But in the Ziga universe, it is a verb and a noun. The family owns 17 ancient cherry trees (variety: Durone di Vignola) surrounding their stone cottage, 30 minutes from the town of Bra (yes, the same Bra known for cheese and slow food).
Every July, the “Ciliegia Pact” is enacted. For 72 hours, no phones (except for the single camera on a tripod). All able hands pick, pit, and cook cherries into:
The most famous moment in Series 2 shows the three children, faces stained purple, laughing as a bucket of overripe cherries tips over. The caption: “Faccine sporche. Ciliegia persa. Memoria guadagnata.” (Dirty little faces. Cherry lost. Memory gained.) The Ziga family’s cottage holds Bra Verified status
In an age of AI-generated travel blogs and mass-produced “authentic” experiences, the Bra Verified mark offers trust. Travelers have been misled by fake farmhouses and synthetic localism. The Ziga family’s choice to pursue verification was intentional: they want visitors to know that when you arrive at the cottage with the Ziga family, you are not walking onto a set.
To understand the verified status of the Ziga family, one must understand their three sacred pillars:
The cottage is located 12 km outside of Bra, along the Strada dei Ciliegi (Cherry Road). It is not listed on major booking platforms. Instead, reservations are made via a small cooperative called Veri Sapori Piemontesi.
Because the cottage is small and the Bra Verified status limits the number of daily visitors to 20, bookings must be made weeks—sometimes months—in advance.
Pro tip: Mention “faccine e ciliegia” when booking to ensure you are placed on the baking workshop schedule.