A day among the hills: a trip to Casale Monferrato

A beautiful city of art, set in the green of the hills, surrounded by vineyards and crossed by a great river: many people's dream would be to live in a place like this. We are on the banks of the river Po; the great cities of the industrial triangle of the North are within easy reach, but here, in place of the chaos of the metropolises, a small-scale, human-sized atmosphere reigns. And yet Casale Monferrato, the destination of this trip of ours, is a capital: the capital of Monferrato. The programme for our day included a full immersion in both the artistic beauties and the food and wine delicacies of the city, and we soon discovered that here the artistic aspect and the wine-growing aspect really go hand in hand. One of the first stops on our round is the Bistolfi Plaster Cast Gallery, inside the Civic Museum.

The artist was born in Casale Monferrato in 1859, and among his best-known works are "La sfinge", "Il boaro" and the imposing symbolic female figures such as "La patria" and "Verso la luce". In the five rooms of the Gallery more than one hundred and seventy of his works are exhibited. In the Civic Museum we can also admire the masterpieces of other great artists from Casale, such as the paintings of Pier Francesco Guala, an eighteenth-century painter, as well as numerous other works dating from the preceding centuries. But several great figures of literature and journalism are also linked to Casale Monferrato: during the First World War Cesare Pavese lived in the college of the Somaschi fathers, while Giampaolo Pansa was born in this city.

During our walk in the wide pedestrian area of the historic centre, we also visit some marvellous sacred buildings: the Cathedral of Sant'Evasio and the Synagogue, built in Baroque rococo style in the sixteenth century and restored in 1969. The Cathedral, of evocative beauty, is the oldest monument of Casale Monferrato and is also one of the most important cathedrals in the Lombard Romanesque style in Piedmont. Among the other very beautiful churches of Casale, the one dedicated to San Domenico, founded in 1472, and the eighteenth-century Church of Santa Caterina stand out. The civic Tower, the symbol of the city, a full 60 metres high and probably raised in the 11th century, keeps watch over the built-up area.

As well as being set in the green of the surrounding hills and vineyards, this pretty city is also very liveable thanks to its ample green spaces: the public gardens of about ninety thousand square metres, created as far back as the eighteenth century with a deliberate reforestation programme. In 1911, on the other hand, the Riverside Equipped Area was created, extending over a full 119 hectares. We return to the metropolis enriched by a unique experience, steeped in beauty and taste, and certain that we want to repeat it soon. Francesca Bertha FOR INFORMATION: