The Meridian That Passes Between History, Art and Good Food: A Day in Mondovì

There was once a boy from a modest family who, in the early eighteenth century, loved to run up and down the little streets of his city. From the historic core of the Piazza district, located on Monte Regale 559 metres high, his gaze could range towards the plain marked by the Po river and also towards the hills of the Langhe. At the time he did not yet know that the Gradus Taurinensis meridian passed right through Mondovì, and although he began very early to take an interest in mathematics, he did not imagine that years later it would be he, Giovanni Battista Beccaria, by then a famous scientist, who would carry out the measurements of that meridian for the first time. We arrive in Mondovì crossing a bridge over the Ellero stream, and we jokingly feel like complimenting the meridian: it had really "chosen" a beautiful city to pass through.

Our gaze is constantly drawn to historic palaces, splendid churches and characteristic views, as well as the hill on which the old town stands. In the Breo district we admire the church of Saints Peter and Paul, and some locals point out to us the iron automaton, made in the 18th century by the local craftsman Matteo Mondino, which with a hammer in hand strikes the hours on a bell. That figure is the Moro, one of the symbols of the city, and it is also the mask that gathers the people for the Carnival celebrations. According to a legend, the Napoleonic troops who occupied the city in 1796 mistook the automaton for a lookout and shot at it. After a little tour among the various districts in the lower part of the municipality, we take the funicular to reach, along a panoramic route, the historic Piazza district. It was right here that they founded the city in 1198.

In that period, in the villages of the area, people were quite tired of the continuous harassment by the marquises, so the population decided to establish themselves as free communes located in hilly and strategic positions: thus Cuneo was also born, in the same year. Our walk continues in the splendid Piazza Maggiore, where we admire the eighteenth-century Cathedral of San Donato, built on the site of a parish church dating back to the 12th century. We also visit the beautiful Church of San Francesco Saverio, known as "La Missione", which preserves inside it the painting masterpieces of Andrea Pozzo. We reach the Belvedere and, besides the ancient walls and the breathtaking view, we admire the Civic Tower, erected between the 13th and 14th centuries initially in Gothic forms.

The tower, over 29 metres tall, served Giovanni Battista Beccaria in 1762 as a trigonometric point for determining the length of the "Monregalese" meridian. We remain in the heart of Mondovì for dinner too, stopping at the Osteria Vineria Cantine Bonaparte, in Piazza Maggiore. We are immediately won over by the charm of the place, together with the kindness of the staff. We are in a building from the late fifteenth to early sixteenth century, and the brick vaults of the underground rooms reach to the centre of the square. "One of our rooms seems to have been the kitchen of the Palace in ancient times," the owner Antonio Costamagna tells us; he runs the place with Davide Rosso and Francesco Caforio, who work in the kitchen.

The historic nature of the place doesn't intimidate, however, thanks to the informal atmosphere: in fact, among the customers there are 15-year-olds as well as eighty-year-olds, and the rooms fill up at lunchtime too. We start with an aperitif, tasting small plates of exquisite cured meats. When we sit down at the table for dinner, history comes back to keep us company: on our paper placemat we notice the depiction of the famous battle of Napoleon that took place right in the field we had just admired from the restaurant's terrace, which opens onto a wonderful view that stretches as far as the Langhe. We begin with the carne all'albese, the vitello tonnato, the cotechino with fondue, and given the autumn season, we can't resist the poached egg with truffle either.

After the rich Piedmontese starter we enjoy a nice plate of ravioli al plin, of gnocchetti with Raschera and pumpkin and of chestnut tajarin with duck sauce. The very good pumpkin and champagne risottos also win fans. We wash these treats down with wines both local and national and foreign, chosen from over 150 labels. Someone opts instead for the beers, also of top quality. We continue with the veal roast with chocolate, the sliced under-fillet grilled, and the delicious scaramella with artichokes. Our Monregalese evening ends in great sweetness thanks to the homemade desserts: the chocolate cake, the crème brûlée, the hazelnut semifreddo, the coffee mousse and the bunet. During the after-dinner, sipping a good glass of wine, we also taste the tasty paste di meliga of Mondovì.

After this beautiful day we are already thinking about the next occasions to return here, listening to the Moro's call for Carnival...

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Osteria Vineria Cantine Bonaparte Piazza Maggiore 3/A Mondovì (CN) Tel.: 0174/553074