From Piedmontese Baroque to the Sicilian Sea: A Journey Within a Journey in Bra, Between Art and Good Food

We drive along a wonderfully panoramic road that, curve after curve, skirts endless vineyards whose lush summer green each year slowly turns into the golden autumn colours that carry with them the precious harvest from which the famous wines of the Langhe are born: so we arrive in the heart of Piedmontese Baroque, splendidly represented by the palazzi and churches of Bra. The first “travellers” to leave their traces in this area were tribes of the Neolithic era, but it was then the ancient Romans who found the Tanaro valley so irresistible that they built there, in the 2nd century BC, the city of Pollentia, today's hamlet of Pollenzo. We begin the discovery of this lovely city right from Pollenzo Castle, built in 1386. Today the structure is part of the UNESCO World Heritage, and it houses the University of Gastronomic Sciences, born from an idea of Carlo Petrini, founder of Slow Food.

Wandering through the old town of Bra, a city since 1760, evocative views full of history open up almost everywhere, and step by step you go deeper into one of the most flourishing periods of Bra's art, the eighteenth century. It was in fact precisely in those years that the city was enriched with the architectural works of Bernardo Antonio Vittone, who created both the church of Santa Chiara and the rounded facade of the Town Hall. In the piazza dei Caduti per la Libertà stands the statue of San Giuseppe Benedetto Cottolengo, a priest born in Bra in 1786, founder of the Piccola Casa della Divina Provvidenza, a charity institute based in Turin. A little further on we admire the parish church of Sant'Andrea, designed by Bernini.

This quarter, known as “della Rocca”, is the oldest in the city, and in a few steps you reach other historic monuments such as Palazzo Traversa, today home to the Civic Museum of History, Art and Archaeology, or the portico of the Ala and the church of the Battuti Bianchi. We walk along several characteristic little streets of the centre until we reach the church of San Giovanni Battista, the oldest parish church in the city. As we walk we notice on Monteguglielmo the symbol of Bra: the Zizzola, with an octagonal plan and topped by a small tower, erected in 1840. The Zizzola is reached on foot with a good walk that repays the effort also thanks to the wide view over the city. Back down, we visit another beautiful sacred place, the sanctuary of the Madonna dei Fiori, built in 1626 on the site of the apparition of the Madonna that occurred in 1336.

Among the irresistible attractions of Bra is also its cuisine, so we decide to give in to the pleasures of the palate, heading to via Isonzo to the Pizzeria da Ugo di M&C, that is, of Maurizio and Cristian, the owners who welcome us with great kindness in a warm, family environment. We settle into the bright dining room furnished with simplicity and elegance, where among the decorations we also notice the Sicilian Trinacria, whose presence is certainly no coincidence: we are about to make a journey within a journey, a culinary outing that links Piedmont and Sicily, and that will lead us to taste authentic Sicilian dishes, but will also let us appreciate the outstanding quality of ingredients from Piedmont, Tuscany and Puglia alike. “We are from Bra, but of Sicilian origin, and our cooking fully reflects this.

On the one hand we keep up the pizza tradition, which has always characterised this now historic establishment opened in 1969, and on the other we constantly introduce Sicilian dishes, from street food to fish specialities, which are our flagship. Seasonally we offer special pizzas using the fresh produce of the period,” explains Maurizio, the chef, who has run the place for four years now together with his brother Cristian, the front-of-house manager. The innate passion for cooking, the keen attention to the quality of the raw materials and the love for the places of their life and their origins create a fortunate mix of expertise and enthusiasm that in the kitchen translates into exquisite, top-quality dishes.

Our journey among Sicilian treats takes shape when we taste street food specialities famous all over the world such as sfinciuni and pane con le panelle, which transport our minds back to the little streets of the old town of Palermo or to the beach of Mondello or Cefalù. The memory of joyful past holidays, or the desire to discover new views of seaside spots of breathtaking beauty, but also of mysterious inland villages, come alive in our hearts when we taste the spaghetti with sea urchins, the sedanini with Bronte pistachio pesto and ricotta, the raw red prawns of Mazara del Vallo or the cheeses of the Madonie. The taste tour of Italy continues thanks to the special pizzas that win us over with their excellent quality and their distinctive ingredients.

Besides the focacce with lardo di cinta senese and with Castelmagno and honey, we also taste the pizza with Puglian burrata, the one with toma and speck, and even the Tragedia pizza, dressed with mozzarella, tomato, lardo di cinta senese and Tropea onion. Despite the name and the onion, in the end it doesn't make us cry; on the contrary, it puts us in a good mood. The true sea-loving souls of our group choose the fish menu instead, famous for its freshness and quality to the point of attracting here, among the hills of Bra, even numerous diners coming from the sea. We begin with exquisite starters including seafood salad, the guazzetto of baby octopus and the swordfish carpaccio, followed by purple potato gnocchi with salt-cod fillet and paccheri with baby octopus.

We wash down these treats with excellent wines selected from labels from almost all of Italy, with a special eye on the Langhe and Sicily. Among the main courses, the very rich mixed fish grill stands out, with king prawns, octopus tentacle and swordfish, but we also find the frittura di paranza fantastic, so good that you really have to taste it to understand. After this beautiful day that enchanted us from an artistic point of view and delighted our palate, we are certain we will return soon, and next time perhaps we will enjoy a summer dinner on the dehors. What's more, on the right evening we might even have the pleasure of attending a fun concert with Cristian on guitar and Maurizio singing, confirming that talent is almost never limited to a single field: in the case of the young M&C owners it ranges harmoniously between culinary art and music.

Francesca Bertha

PER INFORMAZIONI: www. comune.bra.cn.it

Pizzeria da Ugo di M&C Via Isonzo, 39 Bra (CN) Tel.: 0172/44394