An outing to Cassinasco, among the miracles of faith, nature and good food

The story

Towards the end of the nineteenth century a mute girl of about thirteen lived in Cassinasco, and every day she took her flock out to graze. The sight of the wonderful hilly landscape in which wide vineyards, dense woods, bell towers and ancient towers alternated was one of her few joys. One day, when with her sheep she was in the locality of Caffi, all at once she saw an immense green light, and surrounded by that glow, the Virgin Mary appeared to her and expressed to the shepherdess her wish that a chapel in her honour be built on that spot, and then disappeared. The girl ran home and loudly announced what had happened to her family, and from that day she began to speak fluently.

Our trip to Cassinasco, a village called the “Gateway to the Asti Langa”, begins right at the Sanctuary of the Caffi, built brick by brick by the population at the dawn of the twentieth century and consecrated in 1902. Starting from that sacred place, located at over 500 metres of altitude on the border of four municipalities, we set off on a panoramic itinerary of about 6-7 km that allows us to admire views of the Bormida and Belbo valleys. Descending along the road that leads to Cassinasco, we reach the old chapel of Sant’Ilario, today private property, dedicated to the patron saint. Once in the village, we admire the Parish Church of Sant’Ilario, inside which, characterised by Baroque decorations, several precious works of art are kept, including a 17th-century apse canvas depicting the Patron Saint.

The church stands opposite a fortified height, once of extreme strategic importance: today few traces of the castle remain, but the tower, symbol of the village, still rises proudly at the highest point of the settlement. From this point on, we begin to savour our trekking also in the strict sense of the word: we discover that the territory of Cassinasco is full of food and wine treasures. In the centre of the village, the workshop-shop of one of the very few historic torronai left is active: the Antica Casa Faccio, always run by the same family, which since 1856 has produced an artisanal nougat of the very highest quality, awarded and appreciated even abroad. Leaving the old town behind, we head towards the Church of San Massimo, a striking isolated parish church on a hillock on the border between Cassinasco and Rocchetta Palafea.

Before reaching it, we find the place where we will stop to sleep: the B&B Casa Calendula, run by the very kind Angela Stockmann, a Swiss lady who has realised here her “gasthaus” immersed among aromatic herbs. Continuing, we discover some wine estates where we stop to buy a few bottles: the brothers Silvio and Bruno Cremona, who produce the excellent Barbera San Massimo, and, a short distance away, in the hamlet of Bricco-Bosetti, a true excellence, Hohler, famous for its organic wines, in particular a delicious and unmistakable Barbera. Our route, ever more appetising, leads us to a very sweet place: the La Virginia farm, of Mrs Barbara Chiriotti, which produces honey and jams of which we certainly don't fail to stock up. After this lovely walk, we can only crown our day with a dinner inspired by the flavours of the territory, reaching La Casa nel Bosco, in Regione Galvagno.

Welcoming us in the rustic and family atmosphere are the owners, Gianni and Mina Filipetti, who created this corner of peace immersed in a wood of the Alta Langa by renovating an old farmhouse in 1995. “At first we simply wanted to create our ‘good retreat’, but in 2002 we had the bold idea of turning our holiday home into a restaurant,” they tell us. La Casa nel Bosco also owns a large orchard and a 400 sq m vegetable garden, from which the main vegetables used in the kitchen come. “In 2008 we had a lucky appearance on the TV show ‘La prova del cuoco’, which gave great visibility both to us and to the territory,” the owners tell us. We start with the apribocca, the marinated veal carpaccio with rocket and pine nut pesto and the herb parcel with fondue.

We continue with tagliatelle with asparagus, sausage and porcini mushroom ragù and we also taste ricotta and borage gnocchi with tomato and olives. We wash down these delicacies with excellent mainly local wines, chosen from over a hundred available labels. Among the main courses we delight in the cod meatballs with olives and capers, the roast beef with snow peas and potatoes and the sliced duck breast with juniper. We conclude in great sweetness with the Cassinasco nougat semifreddo and the pear cake with Moscato zabaglione. We spend the rest of the weekend between walks and mountain-bike outings along the trails that start right from Cassinasco: trails we are sure to return to soon with joy.