To the sound of jazz, between history, books and good food: a day in Alessandria

If we had arrived here at night, perhaps we might have met a sprightly farmer on the street with a well-fed cow in tow and watched him as he set off from the city besieged by Barbarossa towards the enemy camp. According to legend, in fact, a caryatid of Alessandria's Cathedral, the one depicting the farmer Gagliaudo, detaches itself from the façade at night and comes to life, wandering around the city. Popular imagination tells that during the siege by Frederick I Barbarossa, Gagliaudo managed to induce the enemy troops to retreat by leading his last remaining cow to pasture, kept in excellent health despite the scarcity of food in the city. Barbarossa's men killed the animal and noticed it was very well fed.

When the farmer told them that there was food in abundance in the city, so that Alessandria could withstand the siege for much longer still, Barbarossa decided to retreat and the city was saved. Alessandria keeps far more positive memories of Napoleon. Every summer a historical re-enactment is dedicated to the Battle of Marengo, fought in 1800 near the city, also remembered in the name of the famous chicken alla Marengo, one of the emperor's favourite dishes. Moreover, the story of Napoleon's Italian campaign is told by the exhibition route of the Marengo Museum, where you can relive the famous battle through in-depth displays and routes designed for children. At the time of that famous battle, the celebrated Cittadella di Alessandria, a fortress built from 1732, had already existed for some decades.

Its spectacular star-shaped plan stands out clearly in all aerial views, and the monument is one of the most grandiose 18th-century permanent fortifications in Europe, as well as one of the few still existing. Today the Cittadella, which in the past also hosted Giuseppe Garibaldi and the Austrian emperor Joseph II, is a monument much loved by the people of Alessandria, and is also the seat of the FAI, the Italian Environment Fund. During our walk on this mild, sunny, if autumnal day, we visit Alessandria's most important monuments, including the Cathedral, and since we happen to be there by day, we can testify that Gagliaudo, in the form of a caryatid, is in his place. We also admire the Church of Santa Maria di Castello, the city's oldest religious building, dating back to the 15th century and built in a Roman-Gothic style, with a Renaissance portal.

Among the city's many noble palaces, the Palazzo Rosso stands out, seat of the Town Hall, with a particular clock with three dials. Alessandria was the birthplace of numerous important figures from the world of culture, including Umberto Eco, the writer and poet Sibilla Aleramo and the painters Giovanni Migliara and Franco Sassi, but it is also, in a sense, the capital of the hat: Giuseppe Borsalino, father of the famous hat of the same name, had started his first workshop right here, and for four years the city has had a Hat Museum in honour of the Borsalino hats worn by figures such as Ernest Hemingway, Charlie Chaplin, Anthony Quinn, Gary Cooper, and even Fellini and Alberto Sordi. If Alessandria's culture and industry have been so outstanding over the years, its cuisine is certainly no less so.

To discover its tasty secrets, we head to the oldest trattoria in the city still in business, in the Orti quarter: the Trattoria Razmataz on via Vincenzo Bellini. The place is easy to spot for its original trapezoid shape, extended by an iron-and-glass veranda in a characteristic style reminiscent of the establishments along Milan's Navigli. The name of the place, the coloured music notes on its walls and the images evoke the warm atmospheres of jazz. We soon discover, in fact, that music is an important ingredient of the evenings at the trattoria. Numerous and repeated are its small, precious musical concerts, weavings of warm jazz voices and admirable musicians. Tasty notes that wrap around the patrons, drawing them into timid steps and humming to the rhythm of their memories.

The black piano in the corner of the “red room”, the largest, says it all, with the smaller, more intimate “yellow room” beside it.

We settle in the veranda, next to the crackling stove, letting ourselves be wrapped in the warmth and the aromas of the restaurant's specialities. We begin tasting some typical Piedmontese dishes, some revisited according to the cook's imagination and all prepared following the seasonality of the products, with that attention to quality that has earned the place its Slow Food certification. Here are the Piedmontese raw meat chopped with a knife, the old-style vitello tonnato without mayonnaise, the Russian salad, small flans and seasonal vegetable moulds. We continue with the stew agnolotti, a tradition of the trattoria, tagliatelle dressed with sausage ragù, with vegetable ragù or with chocolate and gorgonzola cream. The risotto timballo with pears and taleggio is excellent too.

Some of us instead opt for a warm chickpea soup with croutons and a very inviting pasta and beans with homemade maltagliati, as are the agnolotti, tagliatelle and bread. Among the second courses we very much like the fassone milanese on the bone with double breading, and it's a real pleasure to evoke seaside holidays enjoying a nice grilled fresh tuna steak with sautéed potatoes. Those who come on Thursday find tripe to enjoy. Every dish is accompanied by excellent vegetable side dishes; in this autumn season the baked “mantovana” pumpkin with balsamic vinegar is prized. This time our day ends in great sweetness, with a parade of tasty desserts: the star “lo zuccotto”, a luscious semifreddo, hazelnut biscuits to dip in Moscato, pears baked in wine, cakes, and the Monferrina, with hazelnuts, pears and chocolate.

We'll certainly return to the “Raz”, as the owners Allegra and Patrizia affectionately call it, to spend pleasant evenings with live music, to leaf through a good book or historic comics (available in a small bookcase beside the tables) and curiously watch the little origami, also homemade with passion.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Trattoria Razmataz Via Vincenzo Bellini, 24 Alessandria Tel.: 0131/223249