 |
From the A*List Deals Weekly Newsletter
|
|
 |
 |
The Langhe (Northwest Italy) Driving Tour
Excerpt from National Geographic Traveler: Piedmont & Northwest Italy
Text by Tim Jepson
Photo by William Albert Allard/National Geographic Image Collection
|
|
|
The hilltop town of La Morra overlooks acres and acres of vineyards. |
A scenic and gastronomic treat, this drive runs through the fertile heart of Le Langhe, a pastoral region of vineyards, rolling hills, and pretty villages that produces some of Italy's finest wines.
*Bolded names and numbers in the text below correspond with our map of this tour.
Download Driving Tour Map
(To download this PDF, you will need the free Adobe Reader.)
Buy the National Geographic Traveler: Piedmont & Northwest Italy guidebook
The Langhe is crisscrossed by tiny country roads, with alternative routes possible between its villages and hamlets. This drive plots an itinerary among the most interesting sights of the central and western parts of the region and follows the most scenic roads. Still, it is worth branching away from the set route if you'd like to explore some of the area's many other byways.
Note, too, that most of the region's roads are unclassified (they have no number) and follow north-to-south-running valleys and ridges, and that there are few lateral links across the hills from west to east. Also bear in mind that while Alba makes a good point of departure, you could just as easily start the drive from Bra and nearby Cherasco, a gracious little village, and join the itinerary outlined below at La Morra.
Leave Alba (1) on Corso Enotria and the S29 road south and, after a few hundred yards, turn right on the winding road that climbs to Diano d'Alba (2). The town is home to a decent Dolcetto red wine as well as the brick-built San Giovanni Battista, a 16th-century parish church that affords sweeping views over the region. From here strike west to the village of Grinzane Cavour, dominated by the redoubtable 13th-century Castello Cavour. The castle is now home to both a wine museum and the Enoteca Regionale Cavour (Piazza Castello 5, tel +39 [0]173 262 159. Castle: up to seven guided tours daily except Tuesday & January; museum $), one of 12 regional enotecas where you can taste and buy local wines. The castle is also the seat of the Ordine dei Cavalieri del Tartufo e dei Vini di Alba, a trade organization that, among other things, holds a charity truffle auction in November.
Proceed southwest from Grinzane Cavour via Gallo d'Alba toward La Morra. A mile and a half (2.4 km) east of La Morra stands the Abbazia dell'Annunziata, where there is another wine museum, the Museo Ratti dei Vini d'Alba (tel +39 [0]173 50 185, by appt. Monday-Friday). Hilltop La Morra (3) commands breezy views and preserves a charming medieval center, as well as the Cantina Comunale (Via Carlo Alberto 2, tel +39 [0]173 509 204), which serves as a visitor center and public enoteca for 50 local wine producers. Wine in La Morra has a particular fame; Julius Caesar stopped here to sample a local vintage, recording the occurrence in his memoirs.
From La Morra drive south the short distance to Barolo, the village that gives its name to the most famous of Piedmont's red wines. About a hundred different Barolos and other wines can be bought at the Enoteca Regionale in the Castello Comunale Falletti di Barolo (Piazza Falletti 1, tel +39 [0]173 56 277, closed Thursday & January), which is also a visitor center and home to another small museum of viticulture. Visit as well the cantina of the Marchesi di Barolo (Via Alba 12, tel +39 [0]173 564 400), Barolo's greatest historic producer.
Country roads lead 3.6 miles (5.8 km) southwest from Barolo to Monforte d'Alba (4), another center of Barolo production, including the outstanding wines of Gianfranco Alessandria (tel +39 [0]173 78 576), Aldo Conterno (tel +39 [0]173 78 150), and Domenico Clerico (tel +39 [0]173 78 171). Drive north six miles (9.6 km) along the picturesque road through Castiglione Falletto and turn right before Gallo d'Alba to Serralunga d'Alba (5), among Le Langhe's most striking villages, thanks to the majestic Castello Falletti (Via del Castello 1, tel +39 [0]173 613 358, closed Monday), built in 1340. The village's Bar Centro Storico (Via Roma 6, tel +39 [0]173 613 203) and Bottega del Vino (Via Foglio 1, tel +39 [0]173 613 604) are good places to buy wine and snacks.
Follow more pretty roads south via Roddino and Serravalle Langhe to Bossolasco (6), a gloriously situated village that is popular with visitors in summer. Just under eight miles (12 km) to its west is the village of Dogliani, known for its excellent Dolcetto wines. To learn more and make purchases stop by the Cantina del Dolcetto di Dogliani (Via Torino 58, tel +39 [0]173 792 282). Otherwise, follow the road south from Bossolasco to Murazzano (7), another lovely hilltop village, its tree-ringed summit dominated by a solitary tower, the sole remnant of the village's medieval fortifications. The village is known for its eponymous cheese, widely available in local shops.
From Murazzano drive southeast to Viglierchi, where a road strikes east toward Monesiglio, worth a detour for the Santuario di Santa Maria dell'Acqua Dolce. This tiny 13th-century Romanesque church (near the village on the outskirts of the hamlet of San Biagio) has rare early frescoes. If time is short, ignore this detour and take the magnificent ridge-top road north via Mombarcaro and Niella Belbo as far as Cravanzana. A short way beyond Cravanzana, take a right turn down to the Bormida Valley and Cortèmilia (8), a village of Roman or earlier origins. The village can also be reached on a valley-bottom road from Monesiglio. Today, Cortèmilia is the commercial and light-industrial capital of the Langhe, but it preserves medieval pockets among the more modern buildings of the two quarters (either side of the river) that make up its old heart.
At Cortèmilia you could continue east along the valley to visit Acqui Terme. If your base is Alba, however, the scenic S29 leads northwest and homeward for 20 miles (30.5 km) through still more lovely countryside. Climbing steeply from Cortèmilia the route runs first through Castino, dipping and winding between hills and valleys to Borgomale (9), dominated by another 13th-century castle.
Just beyond Borgomale, at Benevello, more diversions present themselves, notably the road northwest to Mango, with another castle, the Castello dei Marchesi di Busca. The castle is home to the Enoteca Regionale Colline del Moscato (Piazza XX Settembre 19, tel +39 [0]141 89 291, closed Monday & Tuesday), where you can buy sweeter Moscato and Asti wines, and the Ristorante Castel di Mango (tel +39 [0]141 89 141, closed Monday & Tuesday). From Mango you could return to Alba via Barbaresco (10) to the northwest, the village that gives its name to the second of the region's great red wines. Here, too, there is another Enoteca Regionale (Via Torino 8, tel +39 [0]173 635 251, closed Wednesday), best seen in conjunction with the premises of Angelo Gaja (Via Torino 36, tel +39 [0]173 635 255), one of Italy's most celebrated wine producers. If you do not make this detour, the route from Benevello to Alba, via Ricca, is straight ahead.
|
|
|
Center for Sustainable DestinationsLearn how to preserve the authenticity of the places you love.
» Click Here
National Geographic Traveler Places of a Lifetime
Our guides lead you to the best in ten world-class cities with photo galleries, walking tours, and what to know before you go.
» Click Here
The National Geographic Traveler Reader Panel
Are you a real traveler? Someone who cares about authenticity? Who has a point of view about where we should travel—and how? Then tell us what you think and be eligible to win a trip to almost anywhere in the United States.
» Click Here
|
|
