The world’s best pasta maker is eating her lunch.
After a busy morning service, Rossella Giannini enjoys the silence. The silver-haired matriarch watches closely as her husband, Maurizio, divides the remaining contents of a large pan of ragu between himself, their son, Alberto, and daughter-in-law, Francesca, the family of four exchanging few words while waiters diligently prepare for the evening to come.
It is rarely this quiet at Ristorante Montana. Situated a stone’s throw from Maranello, the home of Ferrari, Rossella has fought an uphill battle to compete with the five-star hospitality on offer down the road, where men in suits pay a premium for a slice of Italian luxury.
Yet the stars, it seems, gravitate here. It was Erling Haaland who, sat within these four wood-panelled walls, wrote ‘the best pasta I’ve ever eaten’ on a napkin addressed to Rossella.
‘Mino Raiola’s father was a friend,’ explains Maurizio, the footballing super-agent having recommended this hidden gem to the free-scoring Manchester City star before his death in 2022.
Rossella Giannini (centre) runs Ristorante Montana with her husband Maurizio (right) and son Alberto (left)
Her restaurant has proven a hit with superstar names including Erling Haaland. He described Rossella’s pasta as ‘the best I’ve ever eaten’ when he visited her eatery in Maranello
Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo visited while playing for Juventus. He ate dumplings, pasta and tiramisu
Rossella has also been visited by Hollywood royalty including Penelope Cruz (second left) and Michael Mann (right)
Haaland is one of countless footballing faces to make the trek to Ristorante Montana. Roberto de Zerbi, Gianluca Scamacca and even Cristiano Ronaldo have paid Rossella a visit – the famously diet-crazy Portuguese unable to resist Rossella’s hearty cooking during a visit with former Juventus president Andrea Agnelli some years ago.
‘He ate fried dumplings with cured meats and pasta – lasagna, tortellini and gramigna – plus tiramisu for dessert,’ Rossella recalls.
She has admirers in Hollywood too, with actress Penelope Cruz and director Michael Mann sampling her famous pasta.
But it is the drivers from La Scuderia who have made this place their home. Rene Arnoux and Stephan Johansson were first to walk through her doors in 1986 while Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, the two men competing for the Prancing Horse this year, are regular visitors. Sebastian Vettel still pops in despite leaving the team in 2020 while a framed photo of a grinning Fernando Alonso hugging the Italian chef during his formative racing years is proudly displayed alongside photos of his fellow Ferrari alumni.
There is one picture that inspires the most awe among this myriad memorabilia, though. Stretched across the width of the wall, Rossella squeezes Michael Schumacher as he tucks into one of her staple dishes – tagliatelle with pork ragu sauce.
‘To my mama Rossella,’ reads the German’s message, delicately-penned in Italian on the canvas. ‘Thank you for everything.’
Rossella looks on with a smile, her soft eyes aglow with admiration for the man who made it his mission to visit whenever in Maranello.
But Ferrari holds the deepest affection in Rossella’s heart. The restaurant walls are plastered with memorabilia
Michael Schumacher formed the strongest bond with Rossella, visiting the restaurant every time he was in Maranello
Schumacher called Rossella his ‘Italian mama’ and adored her tagliatelle with pork ragu sauce
Fellow Ferrari heroes Sebastian Vettel (left) and Charles Leclerc (right) regularly visit her restaurant
‘Breakfast, lunch and dinner he would come here,’ she tells Mail Sport as she clears the table.
‘He was everything,’
Rossella remembers her first meeting with Schumacher well. Acquainting himself with the local area after signing for Ferrari, the German arrived on her doorstep late at night.
‘It was February 14, 1996 at 11.30 pm,’ she recalls. ‘He landed in Parma with his private plane and came to us with the press officer at the time, Mr. Claudio Berro. He had dinner on Valentine’s Day evening. It was love at first sight!’
Five world championships and many tagliatele dishes later, Schumacher has left an indelible mark on Maranello, as well as Rossella’s heart.
‘He called me his Italian mama and he was like another son to me,’ she says with a smile, cherishing those unforgettable moments.
It’s been over ten years since Schumacher last visited Ristorante Montana, the German the victim of a shocking skiing accident on the French Alps in December 2013. His wellbeing has largely been kept from his adoring fans and he has not been seen in public since.
Francesca, standing underneath a framed Schumacher racing suit nearby, utters: ‘It’s a tragedy.’
But the Schumacher clan haven’t forgotten about the woman who cared so deeply for Michael.
While visits are few and far between since his son, Mick, left Ferrari’s young driver programme, a trio of racing helmets belonging to the pair are perched on a shelf above the cash register.
‘Mick and his mother visited last year,’ Francesca says, before showing a photo of the young driver giving Rossella a warm hug. The connection still runs deep between the families after all of these years.
The wheels keep on turning at Ristorante Montana on this grey February afternoon, where another successful night’s trading fast approaches.
Will a famous face pay a surprise visit this evening? Leclerc is in town to promote Ferrari’s new partnership with Peroni, while a fever-pitch excitement is in the air over Lewis Hamilton ‘s upcoming arrival – the Briton having signed a lucrative deal to join the Scuderia from 2025.
Now, this quaint restaurant awaits the arrival of Lewis Hamilton when he joins the Scuderia in 2025
The seven-time world champion has never frequented this Ferrari sanctuary but his father, Anthony, dropped by many years ago, long before Hamilton begun talks with the Italians over a shock switch from Mercedes.
The follower of a strict vegan diet, will Rossella’s famous tagliatelle be off the menu for Hamilton?
‘I’m the boss here!’ Rossella quips, excited at the prospect of cooking for the man desperately chasing a record-breaking eighth world title – a tally which will see him finally eclipse her darling Schumacher. ‘He will have what I cook for him!’
If he’s anything like his fellow stars, Hamilton won’t be able to escape the magic of this refuge.
And the secret ingredient to Ristorante Montana’s success? .
‘It feels like home,’ says Rossella.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk