Five good reasons to visit Piedmontese hills
Paths in Piedmont are full of emotions. Follow step by step those who know and love the hills of Langhe, Asti and Monferrato - the greatest destination for gourmets - and enjoy the pleasure of getting lost in the Roads of Barolo, Cheese and Honey, discovering castles, small towns of art, age-old traditions and legends...
Grappolo d'uva © - Sviluppo Piemonte Turismo
Perhaps you've never come here, but you've certainly come across their flavours. Barolo, Barbaresco and Dolcetto wines are the most precious outcome of the Langhe, a land the human kind was endowed simply to enjoy the pleasure of good drinking.It's a paradise. Yet it used to be perceived as a hell, because the work among vineyards was extremely hard. As stubborn as mild in maintaining centuries-old traditions, the spirit of the locals is rooted in the spirit of the land. And these traditions are well kept along the “Strada del Barolo e grandi vini di Langa” Wine Route, where everything - landscapes, cellars, inns - speaks of wines.
Panorama - Serralunga d'Alba © - Sviluppo Piemonte Turismo
Many people come to the Langhe area because of their great wines and unparalleled cuisine, but few leave without discovering places of ancient beauty. The landscape of the Langhe is an uninterrupted series of hills, as mellow as dreams. And at the top of each hill hangs a village, nearly suspended in the sky, apparently sleeping. Hold it! It doesn't sleep... You're going to loose your way along its cobbled lanes, only to realize how lively the village is, and how far its old-time beauty goes.
Langhe © - Sviluppo Piemonte Turismo
Driving along the “Strada del Barolo e grandi vini di Langa” Wine Route means entering, little by little, the heart of the Langhe area. You will learn the art of “andar per Langa”, or “going by Langa” as the locals call it. This paesant's tradition has become a series of easy-going routes in the midst of nature, following paths meandering across the Langhe. You will be amused by the colors of vineyards, ready to provide new foliage at the turn of the seasons. Cellars and country homes will bewitch you through their doorways, like mermaids.
The Langhe keep an incredible heritage of taste. Great wines and a tradition of good food are rooted in the peasant past of this area, turned today into a symbol of authenticity and respect for nature and its rhythm. Truffle - the white Alba truffle, star of a celebrated International Fair held annually here - is the king of diamonds, but in the Langhe you will be also taught about the round and gentle nut, great cheeses and an endless series of recipes - the renowned “tajarin” among first courses, the "brasato al Barolo" among main ones - which will surprise the most sophisticated connoisseurs.
Every local culture - peasant cultures particularly - used to generate frightful characters, in a timeless need to strenghten the sense of community and to produce popular wisdom. In the Langhe area you will frequently be told, perhaps in a whisper, of “masche”, or witches, able to cast spells, characters in the elders' tales and the children's nightmares. Those ancient fears are only legends today, but every summer they are still staged in every Langhe village.
