LANGHE: Great wines and Great writers

Those who have not visited the Langhe cannot claim to know Piedmont. A splendid reallife idyll of hills almost entirely dedicated to the cultivation of wine grapes and hazelnuts, among the cstles, palaces and other reminders of the past. Home of the great Piedmont writers, fenoglio and Pavese, who describe the Langhe as a true landscape  of the soul.

Even without the magic views of vineyards, even if this region did not produce some of the best vintage wines in the world and even if Cesare Pavese and Beppe Fenoglio had not immortalised the region in their stories full of poetry, the Langhe would still be a unique place, with its castles and villages nestling on a balcony of hills, overlooking the Alps to the west and the sea to the south.

Pavese provided wonderful descriptions of the area, with all its charm and the toughness that characterised the lives of the local people over the centuries.  A population capable of drawing succulent grapes out of this mean and rugged land, furrowed by ravines. Langhe, not luscious, but nevertheless unforgettable.

Cherasco is a town suspended on top of a high plain. It has an elegant characteristic town centre and is completely enclosed by the remains of the ancient star-shaped walls. Once you have reach Bene Vagienna, you can visit the excavations of the Roman city of Augusta Bagiennorum in the Roncaglia hamlet.

To reach the heart of the Langhe, you must go down into the Tanaro Valley, up to La Morra in its splendid panoramic position and then on to the builtup area of Barolo, that lends its name to the most famous wine produced in the Langhe. Falletti Castle houses a collection of vintage bottles.

After passing through the hill villages of Monforte d'Alba and Roddino, turn along the small carriageroad to Serralunga d’Alba with its beautiful castle. Then go down to Sorano and Gallo d'Alba, and then up again to the characteristic Castle of Grinzane Cavour, the 13th century manorhouse that was home to the famous Piedmontese statesman and which houses the Cavour literary prize.

Alba, capital of the Langhe, is not far away: the towers and the Gothic Lombard Duomo are reminiscent of the harmony of some Tuscan towns and in the elegant shops alongthe narrow streets you can buy all the local produce, from nougat, to truffles, to highquality wines.