A FAMILY STORY

Hello Alexandre, can you tell us about your background and what brought you to Italy?

I come from a family of Champagne producers, grew up in Switzerland and then lived in many places, including 6 years in Los Angeles. I didn't feel at home anywhere. In 2013, on my return to Switzerland, I met up with the woman who was to become my future wife, and sometime later, when we planned to have a child, I promised to take her back to her native Italy. Switzerland clearly lacks (human) warmth and gives me the feeling of being very landlocked, whereas I dream of landscapes as far as the eye can see. In 2017, we settled on a hill 10 minutes from Florence. Ariella, my wife, is back in the environment of her childhood, and I'm finally discovering a place where I feel at home.

And what about olive oil?

The idea of olive oil came long before I moved to Italy. It was already in the back of my mind in Los Angeles. Even though I started out as a photographer, I've always had an attraction for the soil and wanted to make a product from it. Clearly, this comes from my family, champagne and working outdoors. But more than anything, I wanted to produce something that was good for your health. Olive oil was the obvious choice. So, I found a property in Tuscany with 15 hectares of olive trees (around 1,500 trees).

Alexandre Vazart

2018/ By Emilie Nahon for alidifirenze.fr