Ancient flavours and sweet amaretti along the trails of Beigua Park: a trip to Sassello

Between the Genoese western hinterland and the hills of the Alto Monferrato stretches a fabulous territory, covered by dense woods where exquisite mushrooms grow, where you can take long walks along the trails that wind through the Beigua Regional Nature Park, and where very colourful villages tell the history of a territory that would date back to the Palaeolithic. We reach Sassello along the road that leads here from Acqui Terme, and a little before our destination we are surprised by a fawn, shy but curious, that crosses the road in front of us. Once in the village, the local people tell us that spotting animals including hares, martens and various rare birds is the order of the day here. We begin our walk from the old town, admiring the religious buildings that nestle among the typically Ligurian lanes.

We visit the Church of the Santissima Trinità, consecrated in 1725, in which a fresco, created by Paolo Gerolamo Brusco, lets us discover the important ironworking tradition of the village, which probably dates back to the fourteenth century, a period in which the Pizzorno introduced the first ironworks there. The artist, in fact, depicted the Apostles modelling them on the likeness of eleven bearded ironworkers, thus immortalising the craftsmen who for centuries made the industrial history of Sassello. The first place of worship of Sassello, on the other hand, was the Church of San Giovanni Battista, erected in the 11th century. Inside it there is also a statue by Anton Maria Maragliano. In the centre we also visit the sixteenth-century Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, in ancient times attached to a convent of Friars Minor.

Besides the Ligurian colours of the buildings, the centre of Sassello also delights us with the colours of its tasty amaretti, the soft almond-paste biscuit, available in many flavours. We discover another piece of history by visiting the fort of Bastia Soprana, erected towards the middle of the thirteenth century in a dominant position on a hill not far from the centre. Today few ruins of the castle remain, along with the circular tower. After the destruction of the castle another was erected, Bastia Sottana, of which various spaces have been saved, including portions of walls. From the surroundings of the centre we move to the hamlet of Palo, where we visit the Church of San Bernardo Abate, mentioned since 1577. Along the road that leads to Urbe stands the Chapel of the Madonna del Foresto, also known as the Chapel of the Bei Bailà.

It was built by a woodsman miraculously saved by the Madonna. One day, while he was felling a tree, the man was seriously injured and feared he would bleed to death. So the woodsman, who was also an accomplished dancer, as the term “bei bailà” recalls, began to invoke the Madonna, who saved him. We stay in the hamlet of Palo for dinner too, at the Ristorante Antichi Sapori. The rustic and warm environment, as well as the kindness of the owners, immediately put us at ease. “We took over this place in March, after about 25 years of experience in medium-to-high-level catering, also abroad,” Mrs Grazia tells us, a pasta maker, who runs the place with her partners, her husband Giuseppe, who is the chef, and her daughter Cristina who welcomes us in the dining room. Her son-in-law Carletto works as a waiter and pizzaiolo.

The children immediately dive into the lovely garden where they play while waiting to be called to the table. Meanwhile we discover that the restaurant also offers a lunch menu, which at the weekend, weather permitting, also includes grilled main courses. Our dinner inspired by the flavours of the territory, reinterpreted with creativity and based on local products, begins with a mixed starter of house cured meats with fried gnocco, monferrina-style veal with truffle oil, caramelised goat cheese with speck and raspberry radicchio, Parma ham with melon gelée and skewer of grilled scamorza, as well as the hazelnut salad with potatoes on bread and broad bean sauce. We continue with chestnut trofie with wild boar ragù, with ravioli di magro in walnut sauce, tricolour potato gnocchi with clams, shaved courgettes and curry, and the ricotta pyramid with a braised heart on three-cereal risotto.

We wash down these delicacies with excellent local wines including Dolcetto, Barbera and Bonarda, and while the kids finish their pizzas, we order a few tasty main courses including the beef fillet with Modena vinegar with grilled mango sticks, the chicken fusello in buffalo mozzarella caprese on tomato sauce and the grilled swordfish steak on green pepper ratatouille. We conclude with some tasty house desserts including the mango bavarese with ace gelée, the creamy coffee flan and the vanilla and poppy seed semifreddo with meringue shards and amaretto sauce. We will repeat this very pleasant experience soon, perhaps on the way back after days spent at the sea.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Ristorante Antichi Sapori Fraz. Palo Via Molana, 27 Sassello (SV) Tel. 019/727165 Facebook: Antichi Sapori Srl