A holiday full of flavour at an agriturismo at the foot of the Ligurian Apennines: a trip to Lerma

Every year the day arrives when the slanting rays of the Sun reach a niche in the wall of the medieval castle, lighting it up for a few brief moments. In those moments the rubies of the three golden roses hidden there since 1565 in a crystal casket blaze, flooding the walls of the manor with a fiery light. The phenomenon lasts so briefly that in over 440 years no one, dowsers included, has managed to locate the niche where Isabella Corvalan, lady-in-waiting to the queen of Castile, is said to have hidden that treasure. These novel-like medieval atmospheres are reached after a few minutes of gentle bends from the Ovada motorway exit, among vineyards and wooded hills that form part of the Capanne di Marcarolo Park, where, on a tufa crag, stands the castle of the Spinola family, built towards the end of the fifteenth century.

Passing under an arch you enter the ricetto, preserved entirely intact within the walls. Still inside the little square of the castle we admire the fifteenth-century parish church of San Giovanni Battista, whose apse was carved out of one of the castle's towers. Inside it are kept many precious works of art, including a large fresco of 1608, and the fourteenth-century panel by Barnaba da Modena, depicting the Virgin and Child. This panel was initially donated to the thirteenth-century sanctuary of N.S. della Rocchetta by the Spinola family, as a sign of thanks for the birth of an heir. Originally the sanctuary was a hospice that offered lodging to wayfarers travelling the Salt Road. We also visit the Romanesque church, that is, the pieve of San Giovanni Battista, the only survivor of the oldest nucleus of Lerma, called Rondinaria.

Inside it preserves a series of valuable frescoes by masters of Lerma, while on the facade an image of San Cristoforo Martire is said to have protected all those who had to cross from one bank of the Piota river to the other. We stay along the banks of the same stream, a favourite destination also of gold panners, throughout the weekend. A few minutes' drive is enough to reach our home for these days of holiday: the Agriturismo Cirimilla, located along the road of the same name that runs beside the stream with its fresh, crystal-clear waters. We leave the car in the convenient car park of the property and settle in, occupying two of the four rooms, all bright, with en-suite facilities and furnished with simple, functional taste, as well as a pleasant rustic touch. Welcoming us with great kindness is Mrs Ornella, who runs the agriturismo together with her son Paolo.

Chatting with the owners, we discover that the farm's activity has a history going back decades, begun in 1993 with livestock breeding at the Valle del Piano farm, on the border between Bosio and Parodi Ligure. "Ours is an organic farm of cattle, pigs and sheep that allows us to produce genuine, healthy meat, in full respect of the environment and of consumers," Mrs Ornella explains, who besides the agriturismo and the breeding also runs the farm shop since 1998. "We have Piedmontese breed cows, fattening pigs bought at a young age from other organic farms, and also sheep for the production and sale of lambs.

Naturally our crops focus mainly on the raw materials for feeding the livestock, such as hay, straw, cereals, alfalfa, but we also produce potatoes and vegetables that we use in the agriturismo's kitchen too, an activity that was added to the farming ones in August 2014," Ornella explains. What a healthy meal based on organic, zero-kilometre ingredients really means we discover with great pleasure in the evening, on returning from a lovely mountain-bike ride along the trails that cut through a landscape of intense wild charm within the Capanne di Marcarolo Nature Park. Given the fine weather, we sit out on the terrace, and begin our dinner in the name of the authentic flavours of the Lower Piedmont and the Ligurian hinterland with cured meats produced by the farm, accompanied by fried gnocco.

We also taste tasty omelettes and little savoury tarts, without overlooking the Russian salad, the sweet-and-sour peppers and the aubergine rolls. The menu changes with the seasons and always offers fresh dishes, homemade in full respect of peasant tradition. After the rich starter we continue with first courses of fresh pasta, among ravioli, tagliolini, pappardelle and lasagne, to be dressed as you please with rabbit or mushroom sauces, with ragu or with pesto. Some instead prefer a good minestrone that, with its genuine flavour, gives the palate back the essence of nature. We wash down these delicacies with excellent wines from local wineries, and we discover that thanks to their collaboration with the agriturismo, we can also go and visit them, taking part in tastings directly in the cellar.

We continue with dishes prepared with the farm's meats, ranging from roast, vitello tonnato, escalopes, carpaccio and cima. Among the side dishes we again taste the exquisite vegetables from the garden, including courgettes in green sauce, little potatoes and salad. Finally, we have only to give in to the sweet temptations of the house: tiramisu, bunet, panna cotta, tarts and strawberry fruit salad, all decidedly irresistible. After this lovely holiday in Lerma, spent in the name of regenerating walks, bike rides and great feasts of genuine good things, we are certain we want to return here soon, and perhaps we will happen to do so just at the moment when the sun lights up the golden roses of the castle.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Agriturismo Cirimilla Strada Cirimilla 4/A Lerma (AL) Tel.: 0143/877702 Ornella: 349/4255651 Paolo: 348/5265627 Azienda agricola Valle Del Piano Str. Com. per Cadegualchi, Bosio (AL)