The scent of chocolate in the footsteps of the champions: a day in Novi Ligure

'Go Girardengo, go great champion, no one follows you on that road,' sang Francesco De Gregori a few years ago, and since the destination of this trip of ours is precisely the birthplace of Costante Girardengo, one of the greatest Italian cycling champions of all time, it is only natural to hum this song. Arriving in Novi Ligure, we saw dozens of professional cyclists training on the main road that leads here from Ovada, clear evidence that the memory of the great champions linked to Novi is still very much alive. Fausto Coppi, although born in nearby Castellania, often trained on the roads of Novi, and his name too is indissolubly linked to the city. The first stop of our day is precisely at the Museo dei Campionissimi, the largest cycling museum in Europe, which over a full three thousand square metres pays tribute to the history of cycling.

In the Sala dei Campionissimi we admired a series of memorabilia and testimonies linked to Coppi and Girardengo, while in the Virtual Reality Room we improvised as cyclists ourselves on computerised bicycles that let you experience the thrill of racing, making it incredibly lifelike. On approaching Novi Ligure, some large signs on the main road inform tourists of the city's main attractions, including the painted palaces, chocolate and sweets. Novi, situated on the northern slopes of the Ligurian Apennines, among the hills of the Alto Monferrato, cultivated with vines or covered by often untouched woods, was in the 17th and 18th centuries a holiday city for wealthy Genoese families. Here were the summer residences of the Doria, the Balbi, the Spinola, the Durazzo and several other dynasties.

Their palaces, all richly decorated and painted in various colours, represent a tourist attraction mentioned even in some French chronicles of the 18th century. The most important painted palace in the city is Palazzo Negroni, which also has two sundials, one of them based on the French revolutionary calendar. Palazzo Negroni stands on the most important square of the old town, Piazza delle Piane, itself named after a historic Genoese noble family. If via Girardengo, which leads here, is a lively shopping street, with many small shops from clothing to knick-knacks, on reaching Piazza delle Piane you instead experience an atmosphere of other times, steeped in art, thanks also to the presence of a beautiful fountain, as well as the splendid Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Continuing our tour of the centre we also admired the imposing Church of San Nicolò, as well as the 14th-century Church of Sant'Andrea, which was once probably linked to the Castle. Climbing up beside the church you reach the remains of the Castle, and at the top of the hill you can admire the Tower, built in the 13th century. Around the remains of the Castle we also noticed some parts of the ancient city walls that once bordered the village, but which in the second half of the 19th century were dismantled to allow the urban development of the settlement. After discovering the champions and the painted palaces, all that remained was to get to know the gastronomic delights this city offers beyond chocolate too. We therefore decided to stop at the Trattoria Pizzeria La Rosa Blu, in the very central corso Marenco, a few steps from the entrance to via Girardengo.

Some locals had suggested this new place to us, whom we had also asked about the possibility of finding dishes suitable for vegans. Sitting in the trattoria's dehors, we were welcomed by the owners Andrea and Corrado, who have run the place with great enthusiasm since 13 May 2014. 'Our kitchen, besides offering many traditional dishes, is particularly appreciated for its fish specialities and its pizzas. We have three types of pizza: besides the classic one with 00 flour, we also make one with five-grain flour, and we have six types of vegan pizza,' they explain to us.

Our vegan friends thus found themselves facing a very pleasant embarrassment of choice, among pizzas each better than the last: from the Mozzarisella, the Margherita made with rice mozzarella, to the Mopur, with tomato, Mopur carpaccio, rocket and tofu flakes, to the vegan Würstel or the vegan Salami pizza, not forgetting the Ortola vegan and the Biancaneve with mozzarisella and vegan spalmarisella. The rest of the group also chose to taste some of the pizzas and focaccias, among which the special pizzas were a great success, such as the 'Lanterna', with pesto, certosa and boiled potatoes, and the 'Corrado', a pizza that a few years ago had even taken part in a world pizza championship, made with truffle cream, certosa, porcini, cherry tomatoes, speck and rocket.

We could not resist the focaccia with stracchino either, a legendary speciality of Ligurian origin, widespread in Monferrato too. Those who instead preferred to delight in restaurant dishes chose a rich and very good seafood starter, followed by spaghetti with seafood and a fine grilled fish. Some opted for the mixed fried fish, and the prawns in Brandy also won converts. Our 'carnivore' friends, on the other hand, after a starter of cold cuts continued with the typical agnolotti al tocco or with ragù, but the Castelmagno risotto was also very popular. Afterwards, they treated themselves to exquisite tagliate, including the tagliata del Pirata and the tagliata with rocket and grana, as well as steaming mixed grills. Our day in Novi ended among the sweet caresses of the house desserts, including several tasty cakes, also chocolate and forest fruit ones.

Returning to Novi Ligure will always be a pleasure, and next time, besides tasting the delights of these lands again, we will perhaps also take a nice bike ride through the hills.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Trattoria Pizzeria La Rosa Blu Corso Romualdo Marenco, 165 Novi Ligure Tel.: 0143/510935