Medieval Towers and Witch Tales along the Via del Sale: a Day in Varzi

While travelling towards Varzi, the mind easily flies back many centuries, to when on the road linking the Staffora Valley with the sea, in place of lorries there were mules loaded with salt. Yes, because from Varzi, given its strategic position, on the border between three regions, passed the famous Lombard Via del Sale (Salt Road), whose trade stimulated the town's development. Known since 993, and located in a territory inhabited since prehistoric times, today Varzi is the ideal destination for slow tourism, which appreciates the numerous historical and artistic testimonies of the place, together with the beauty of the landscape of the Oltrepo Pavese.

Arriving in the town, one is enveloped by the charm of its medieval atmospheres: the towers, the castle and the walls that we admire today were built in the 13th century on the orders of the marquis Azzolino, founder of the Varzi line of the Malaspina family that long ruled these lands. Varzi became one of the main jurisdictions of the Oltrepo and its centre was full of offices, shops and warehouses, but not only: there was also space for a witch or two and the mysteries connected with them. Indeed, one of the first buildings we visit is the Castle, in whose sturdy tower, known as the Witches' Tower, a large group of people accused of witchcraft was locked up in 1460, later burned in the public square. But mysteries and legends also surround the religious life of the town, and precisely thanks to its patron St George.

In the parish church are kept the relics of the arm and right hand of the saint, brought to the town between 1473 and 1479. It is said that a thief who tried to steal the relic once had his arm come off. And not only that: some time ago in the churchyard there was an enormous horse chestnut tree, called the tree of the witches, of the devil, but also of the thief of St George's relic, because it seems the wrongdoer ran around the chestnut tree trying to get away with it after the theft, but was caught right there. The tree, moreover, was later found fallen to the ground, uprooted.

During our walk we also visit the Church of the Cappuccini, existing already in 702 AD and known as the ancient pieve of San Germano, the Church of the Rossi, whose bell tower acts as a lighthouse for the people of Varzi, and the Temple of the Fraternity of Cella, erected by the military chaplain returning from the Second World War Adamo Accosa to convey a message of peace, using stones from the ruins of the world conflict. We follow in the footsteps of the Malaspina also in identifying the place of our dinner: we reach, indeed, Pietragavina, mentioned as early as 1164, and belonging to the Malaspina who even had their own Pietragavina line, which later died out in the 15th century.

We travel the road beaten for centuries by merchants coming from the upper Staffora Valley and the Val Tidone who passed here on their way to the market of Varzi, and we stop at the Albergo Ristorante della Posta, where in those days the horses were changed and a stop was made to eat and sleep. In the spacious, family atmosphere we are welcomed with great kindness by the owner Oreste Centenaro, known as Tino, and his wife Rosangela, who is the cook. From our table we observe a beautiful period photo showing how the place looked at the time of its founding, in 1920. 'It was my grandfather's aunt who opened this restaurant, my grandfather also being called Oreste, like me,' Mr Tino begins his account. 'Her children, Giovanni, my father, and Ernesto, my uncle, made salamis, an activity we still carry on today,' he continues.

We start, indeed, by tasting a selection of the very good cold cuts produced on the premises, including coppa and pancetta piacentina. Among the twenty or so starters available we also taste various dishes prepared with seasonal vegetables, such as even wild asparagus, known as lovertise. We go on with the malfatti with mushroom sauce and with tagliolini with wild boar sauce. Part of our group cannot resist the risotto with salami paste and Bonarda, but the mezzelune in walnut cream are also very popular. A friend of ours enthusiastically chooses one of the soups, always available, of barley, spelt or mushrooms. Among the main courses game is never missing, since Mr Tino is an expert hunter, so we can abandon ourselves to the pleasure of stewed wild boar with polenta and wild boar with aromatic herbs.

Lamb in spinaroli sauce and the escalope with mushrooms are also popular, not to mention the sweet-and-sour suckling pig. We are certain to come back here again for new walks and new succulent dinners, and this time we bid farewell to Varzi by delighting in the house desserts, including the chocolate salami, the jam tarts, the ricotta semifreddo and the mattoni, that is, dry biscuits with cold butter cream and chocolate powder. Finally, we also taste the powerful and exquisite zuccherini, made with 90-degree alcohol and flavoured with anise.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Albergo Ristorante Posta Via Fraz. Pietragavina, 1 Varzi Tel.: 0383/576045 Open every Saturday and Sunday Closed Tuesday Weekday opening by reservation