A waterfall of pleasure among the hills of Monferrato: a weekend in Pozzolo Formigaro

If we had arrived here a few years ago, say around 140 BC, we would probably have travelled along one of the Roman consular roads that mark out the municipal territory: the via Postumia, also called the "Emperor's Highway", which passes to the east, or to the west the Via Aemilia Scauri, known as the "Via Levata". The historic centre of Pozzolo Formigaro itself stands on a "via quintana", a demonstration of the strategic importance this municipality had since the most ancient times. Today an hour of motorway from Milan is enough to get here, exactly as we did, intending to spend a nice weekend away. Exiting at the Novi Ligure toll booth, after a few kilometres you reach the town whose name would derive from the "pozzoli", places located along the rivers where small colonies once gathered to cultivate the land and to water themselves by digging wells.

Our accommodation, chosen for this weekend thanks to the suggestion of friends of ours who often pass through this area for work, we recognise easily from the road: it's the Hotel Cascata, located on the SS 35 bis dei Giovi state road. We leave the car in the very large car park and reach the entrance passing among the lovely flowers that line the steps leading to the cool terrace. In the spacious hall we're welcomed with great kindness by the staff who help us settle into our rooms, bright, quiet and spotlessly clean, equipped with a television. After drinking something cool on the very pleasant terrace, we set off to discover the town. Our walk begins from the most important monument of the municipality, the castle, which testifies to how Pozzolo Formigaro, which today wins over the tourist with its tranquillity, was once at the centre of numerous rather ferocious warlike events.

The castle of Pozzolo stands on the top of an alluvial terrace overlooking the plain, and is part of the Castelli Aperti circuit of Piedmont. It was built in 1092 by the people of Tortona, and for a good seven centuries this fortified village represented a very valid bulwark against Genoese expansionism in the Oltregiogo. After the destruction of Tortona by Frederick I Barbarossa, the castle fell under the emperor's dominion, only to return to its rightful owners thanks to Obizzo Malaspina, who reconquered it with the help of the Milanese. Witness to centuries of rather eventful history, today the Castle is the seat of the Town Hall and inside it conserves, besides some frescoes that originally were in the Church of Nostra Signora delle Ghiare, also a 15th-century wooden Madonna.

If in Roman times the roads around Pozzolo Formigaro were of primary importance, so it was also in much more recent times, thanks to those who travelled them on two wheels: the champion cyclists Fausto Coppi and Costante Girardengo, both born a very short distance from here (Coppi at Castellania and Girardengo at Novi Ligure, where the Museo dei Campionissimi is located, the largest cycling museum in Europe), often trained along the roads connecting the neighbouring municipalities. Franco and Nino Rota, famous cycling journalists, were instead actually from Pozzolo Formigaro. The namesake of the famous composer was for many years a cycling reporter for the Gazzetta dello Sport.

During our walk we admire several beautiful churches such as the Parish Church of San Nicola, the Parish Church of San Martino Vescovo and the two Oratories, of the Assunta and of the Santissima Trinità, also called those of the "Battuti Bianchi" and of the "Battuti Rossi", based on the colour of the confraternity members' capes. Chatting with the local people we learn that an important polyptych dedicated to Saint Sebastian, made up of ten panels and coming from the Church of the Ghiare, is conserved at the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore. After this lovely tour through the history of these places, we return to the Hotel Cascata and, after freshening up, we get ready to enjoy a lovely dinner featuring Mediterranean flavours.

Given the fine weather, we again choose to sit on the terrace, but we don't miss the beauty of the large indoor dining room either, also ideal for parties, ceremonies and banquets. As we start to study the menu, we chat for a bit with the owner who took over this large property about a year ago and in a short time managed to transform a neglected place into a fresh, pleasant hotel-restaurant able to keep up with the times. This important transformation, which involved all the spaces of the property, from the rooms to the outdoor flowerbeds, also passed, and perhaps above all, through the kitchen. The one who manages to tempt both tourists and workers who stop here to eat is chef Antonio, of Salento origins, who with great enthusiasm offers the best specialities of Mediterranean cuisine.

"The most important characteristics of our dishes are the freshness and excellent quality of the ingredients. We do everything strictly to order, we absolutely don't use anything pre-cooked or ready-made. Those who eat with us feel well afterwards too; a meal, if it's good and fresh, never sits heavily on the stomach," he explains to us. Besides the seafood specialities that evoke the sun of Salento, many dishes of the Mediterranean tradition in general are also available, from pasta alla puttanesca to Piedmontese agnolotti, as well as the exquisite pizzas that are very popular with customers. Another strong point of the restaurant is the honest quality-price ratio: to give an example, a plate of linguine with lobster costs 15 euros. Moreover, during the week you can also eat at a fixed price, for just 11 euros.

We begin our dinner with a rich Salento-style seafood buffet, and we also taste some exquisite carpaccios, both octopus and swordfish, made in-house. Among the first courses we choose the chef's linguine and the pappardelle alla manzoniana. Of course we can't resist either the strozzapreti alla salentina, with courgettes, shrimps, salmon and swordfish escalopes. We also very much like the home-made tajarin and the Mediterranean paella, strictly fish-only, with prawns, octopus, cuttlefish, scampi, swordfish, mussels and clams. Last but not least, we also taste an extraordinary speciality created by chef Antonio: fish soup in bread, made to order and available exclusively on request. Next, we taste meat and fish dishes, including the fillet with green pepper and some excellent mixed grills.

Finally, we gladly give in to the sweet temptations of the house desserts, which will complete the long series of pleasant memories that will remain in our hearts after this weekend. We dedicate the second day of our stay to regenerating walks in the midst of nature, and before moving away from Monferrato, taking the road back to the big city, we also stop at the nearby Serravalle Scrivia Outlet. It must really be true that the name Pozzolo Formigaro derives from "pozzo" (well): for us, the weekend spent here was like a wishing well; we found everything needed to feel good, and we're certain we'll gladly return, maybe even for one of the next gastronomic or musical events organised by the hotel, such as the recent Tuning Day or evenings of fun and disco for young people.

Francesca Bertha

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Hotel Cascata SS.35 bis dei Giovi, 45 Pozzolo Formigaro 0143/418831 Facebook: Cascata Hotel