He kisses them, hugs them, talk to them. Donkeys have always been his friends. Ever since he was a kid. "I used to go to the bar to watch television in the company of the donkey. There was an incredible harmony between us. The donkey is affectionate and intelligent, if you teach him something he remembers it years later. Besides, he is a humble animal, gentile. With weak people, with children and the elderly it is even more so ". It lights up in the face, Giuseppe Borghi is almost moved. He is proud of his feat. "At home, when I was little, the donkey was our means of transport. When the first motor vehicles arrived, my father thought he was no longer needed and sold him. For me it was a blow to the heart. Once I got older I decided I wanted to raise donkeys. Nobody believed me, no one would have bet that I would be successful ". Amore, trust and a lot of determination have led Borghi to lead - together with his son Davide - the largest donkey farm in Europe, probably of the world. The Montebaducco farm in Quattro Castella (Reggio Emilia) counts approx 800 specimens, from 13 different races, some of which are particularly rare. There are the Romagnolo, the Martina Franca, the Ragusa area, l’Amiatino, the little Sardinian, the English piebald and the Arab-Egyptian, the French Poitou with a long coat, and even the white colored donkeys. Bred in large spaces - the estate is approx 60 hectares - the donkeys of the Borghi family are fed exclusively with organic products consisting mainly of fodder and cereals, like alfalfa, barley and oats, in compliance with the rigorous methods of organic farming.