Walks and Art Among the Gentle Hills: A Day in Casale Monferrato

A beautiful city of art, immersed 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 big cities of the northern industrial triangle are within easy reach, but here, in place of the chaos of the metropolises, an atmosphere of a city on a human scale reigns. Yet Casale Monferrato is a capital: the capital of the Monferrato. One of the first stops of our tour is the Bistolfi Gipsoteca, 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 imposing symbolic female figures such as "La patria" and "Verso la luce".

In the Civic Museum we can also admire the masterpieces of other great Casale artists, such as the paintings of Pier Francesco Guala, an eighteenth-century painter, as well as numerous other works dating back to earlier centuries. During our walk in the large pedestrian area of the old town, we also visit some wonderful sacred buildings: the Cathedral of Sant'Evasio and the Synagogue, built in the Rococo Baroque style in the sixteenth century. The Cathedral, of an evocative beauty, is the oldest monument in the city, and is also one of the most important cathedrals in the Lombard Romanesque style in Piedmont. Among the other churches of Casale, those dedicated to San Domenico, founded in 1472, and the eighteenth-century Church of Santa Caterina stand out. Watching over the town is the Civic Tower, the symbol of the city, no less than 60 metres high, probably raised in the 11th century.

In the centre we also reach the imposing Castle of the Palaeologus, built in 1352 and today the venue for several cultural events. Besides being immersed in the green of the surrounding vineyards, this pretty city is also very liveable thanks to its large green spaces: the public gardens of about ninety thousand square metres, created since the eighteenth century with a conscious reforestation effort. In 1911 the Sponde Fluviali Equipped Area was created, extending over no less than 119 hectares. After this walk among the beauties of the centre, we also take a tour of the hamlets set among the gentle hills, a favourite destination for cyclists too, and we discover an interesting mining trail. Towards evening we decide to crown the day with an exquisite dinner at the Nuova Osteria Vialarda, in the hamlet of Torcello.

The warm hospitality with which we are welcomed in the comfortable surroundings also extends to Billy, our friend's labrador, well accepted by the owners. The dining room is bright, enriched with contemporary art paintings, and in the warm season you can also eat in the dehors. The cook, Andrea Cantamessa, who runs the place with his sister Carla and with the help of sous-chef Stefano, has thirty years of culinary experience gained from Sardinia to Cortina d'Ampezzo, from Munich to Cuba, as well as several places in the Monferrato. "Our cuisine reflects a constant research aimed at expressing the best of the area. We value traditional flavours also through our "Monferrine Sundays", themed lunches that each time rediscover a typical dish such as bollito or fritto misto.

But we also offer seafood dishes and national products such as Treviso radicchio, always seasonal and of excellent quality. Moreover, the pasta, bread, desserts and ice creams are made by us," Andrea and Carla tell us. We start with a seafood salad with Taggiasca olives on a potato cream scented with basil, and with the porcini mushroom and potato strudel with fondue. We also taste the exquisite cardoons of Nizza gratinated with anchovies. After this rich starter we continue with the spaghetti sautéed with bottarga and prawns, the tagliolini with king prawn ragù and the gnocchi with rocket and gorgonzola cream. We can't resist the porcini mushroom ravioli either, and we wash all these treats down with excellent wines of the area, in particular from nearby wineries.

The concept of "zero kilometres" also characterises the exquisite dishes of selected Piedmontese meat, among which we choose the beef fillet grilled with green pepper, the large mixed meat grill and the grilled sliced beef. The seafood souls of the group opt instead for the mixed fried seafood and for the Argentine king prawns with curry and a rice timbale. What we couldn't finish we take home in a doggy bag, to the great satisfaction of Billy. Finally, we delight in the tasty desserts of the house: the traditional Piedmontese pumpkin cake, the crème brûlée with fresh fruit, the pineapple carpaccio with hazelnut Grand Marnier, and some ice creams. 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:

Nuova Osteria Vialarda Fraz. Torcello - Strada Vialarda, 54 Casale Monferrato (AL) Tel.: 0142/408412 370/3252235