People & Stories: Palmira Serreli in Perra

Interview with the founder of Palmira, a long-standing institution in Torre delle Stelle

What is your first memory of Torre delle Stelle?

I was sixteen the first time I saw Torre delle Stelle. I was on a Vespa with Angelo and the family of the man who would later become my husband. We were heading towards Solanas and passed through the village almost by chance. What I remember is a place very different from the one people know today: sand dunes reaching almost to Saraceno, Mediterranean scrub, moddizzi, and none of the pines or eucalyptus that now shape the landscape. It felt wilder then, more open, harder to imagine from today’s perspective, but already unmistakably special.

How did the original idea for the business come about?

Palmira began in a very simple way, by paying attention to what Torre delle Stelle still lacked. People were always stopping to ask for something, because many everyday services simply were not there yet.So my mother-in-law and I went to the town hall to understand how we might begin.

The first year we opened a small food shop. Then, little by little, the business expanded: a butcher’s counter, a pizzeria, gas cylinders, and many practical services for both residents and holidaymakers. At the beginning everything grew gradually, built step by step, with my husband personally taking care of much of the work. Palmira was never only a shop. It became part of daily life in Torre delle Stelle.

What was the key to your success?

We were always there. That, more than anything else, made the difference. We worked steadily, tried to meet people’s needs, and built trust over time.

The people who came to us were never just customers. They were families returning every summer, children growing up before our eyes, people who slowly became friends. If something was missing from a house, if a family arrived late at night, if someone needed a gas bottle, advice, or simply a hand, we tried to help. Palmira grew in that way: through hard work, constancy, and a real relationship with the people around us.

What is your hope for the future of Torre delle Stelle?

My hope is that Torre delle Stelle will continue to improve without ever losing its soul. It is a beautiful place, still wild enough in spirit to make people fall in love with it, and that is one of its greatest strengths.

I hope it grows in its services, in the care of its roads and its landscape, while remaining an authentic, lived-in, deeply loved place. A place that stays with people, one they first discover as children and still return to, many years later, simply to say hello.