The secrets of cheese-making art among Alta Langa and Monregalese
1st day – Friday
A little stroll in the town’s historical centre: particularly interesting are St. Claire’s Church, the Baroque façade of the Town Hall Building and the imposing Parish Church of St. Andrew built on a design by Bernini. Your visit may continue at PalazzoTraversa, the last remaining real Medieval building in town, and at the church of Santissima Trinità (Holy Trinity), rich in frescoes. You can then take a leisurely walk along Corso Garibaldi with its long Portico called “l’Ala” which on market day (Friday) houses a picturesque market.
Finally, don’t miss a visit to the best historical bars in town where you can enjoy excellent coffee and delicious fancy cakes typical of Piedmontese tradition. You can also decide to organize a cheese tasting at the shop / museum of Fiorenzo Giolito, historic cheese “affineur” in Bra.
In the evening you may then have a lovely dinner at Osteria Murivecchi, where you can enjoy the best dishes of the typical local cuisine and drink the best wines of the area.
Tourist Office: +39 0172 430185
www.turismoinbra.it
2nd day – Saturday
After going through Serralunga d’Alba, you can reach Bossolasco, an alta Langa town where vineyards gradually give way to several types of cultivations among which spectacular hazel groves stand out. Then you get to Murazzano, the capital of the homonymous DOP cheese. The hills in this area are less cultivated, also because they are more difficult, but they boast unspoilt paths running through luxuriant woods which cover the area thus guaranteeing a true contact with nature!
Heading for the areas surrounding Mondovì and Vicoforte, you can reach, through Cevaand Pamparato, Valcasotto, the cheese maturing centre belonging to Beppino Occelli’s’s Agrinatura Dairy Farm.
Here the old dairymen’s skill turns into real cheese-making art. It is in this centre that excellent world-famous cheeses are created. (among these the Protected Denomination of Origin Cheese, Raschera, a real jewel). Here you can enjoy a rich selection of typical cheeses accompanied by a glass of good wine.
Don’t miss Vicoforte’s Strine, a downright monument of art and faith. This imposing church is dominated by a grandiose elliptic dome designed by architect Francesco Gallo in the first half of the 18th century.
You can end your tour in Mondovì, whose historical centre is the site of the famous Mondovì Piazza neighbourhood. For dinner we advise you to get to the ancient village of Briglia, where you can enjoy a lovely dinner at the Trattoria Marsupino.
3rd day – Sunday
A few kilometres away from Bra lies lovely town of Cherasco, famous for its history and for its gastronomic specialities based on snails. The town’s confectionery ,chocolate making art must then be experienced at the renown cafés of the town centre among which the historical confectionery shop, Barbero, stands out.
Cherasco Tourist Office: +39 0172.427055
Finally, after leaving Cherasco, you can reach Fossano for a sightseeing tour including the Acaja Princes’ Castle, an imposing 14th century terracotta brick construction overlooking the town’s historical centre. At present it houses the Town Library and the Town’s Historical Archives.
Tourist Office of Fossano: +39 0172.60160
www.visitfossano.it