A Village of Artists - Our Lovely Stay in Cremolino

You pass under the arch of an ancient gate and arrive in the world of desires: a town on a human scale, colourful houses whose thick walls emanate a tranquillity unthinkable in the big city, flowers and greenery everywhere, steep streets that behind every bend reserve a pleasant surprise for the tourist: a wooden door that makes you think of the cool of a cellar, a pink bell tower that evokes spring and why not, also the Dolcetto d'Ovada wine, typical of the place, an all-red wall that harmonises with the flowers hanging on the balcony opposite. Climbing towards the Castle, the gaze finds the opportunity to range over the green surrounding hills that can be glimpsed among the houses.

Cremolino lies at about four hundred metres of altitude on a hill of the Alto Monferrato, and is crossed by the winding but very panoramic road of the Turchino that connects Asti and Genoa, passing through Acqui Terme and Ovada. We leave the motorway at the Ovada toll booth and after about ten minutes we reach Cremolino. We park the car at the foot of the fourteenth-century Castle, built by the Malaspina, and set off towards our weekend of tranquillity in the name of good food and relaxation. Having passed the Antica Porta Maggiore, which leads into the medieval village, after a few minutes' walk we arrive at our eighteenth-century residence, the Bel Soggiorno, a restaurant that also offers hospitality in its three rooms. We settle in and set off to discover the town.

We start chatting with a lady who recommends us to go and visit the Sanctuary of Nostra Signora delle Grazie. Centuries before the famous Marian apparition of Molare, the neighbouring town, the Madonna appeared at Cremolino to a deaf-mute girl. The girl was grazing her small flock on the top of the hill, when she saw a most beautiful Lady who asked her for a lamb. The girl not only heard and understood perfectly the Lady's words, but also managed to answer her: "Gladly, just wait while I go and ask mummy". She ran home and her parents, on hearing her speak, were literally left open-mouthed. They told her to return to the Lady and also to give her the whole flock, if she wished. The miraculously healed girl ran back to the spot, but the Lady was no longer there. However, a mysterious voice could be heard echoing in the sky saying: "I am the Queen of Heaven".

In 933 there was a raid by the Saracens who totally devastated the Sanctuary, built on the site of the Madonna's apparition. Among the burnt ruins, however, the people found, completely intact, a painting of the Madonna. They therefore decided to rebuild the Chapel which since then, in memory of this miraculous occurrence, is called "La Bruceta".

If many centuries ago it was a sacred painting that reminded the people of Cremolino of being in the Madonna's favour, paintings and art continue to be important in this place. The colours of the medieval village and of the surrounding gentle hills, of the vineyards and of the old houses seem the work of a painter, and Roberto Fiordiponti must have thought so too, an artist born in Terni in 1943 who dedicated to Cremolino a series of watercolours depicting the most characteristic corners of the village. In his works, which had also been exhibited in the town some time ago, we can admire the Cremolino atmospheres suspended between reality and fantasy: as in a dream, his trees sometimes have blue leaves.

During our weekend, art accompanied us even at dinner, during which we were able to abandon ourselves to the pleasures of a true culinary art. Indeed, the dishes of the traditional cuisine of the Alto Monferrato, with Ligurian influences, skilfully prepared by Giovanni, the owner of the historic establishment, are works of art in themselves. The fritto misto of the Bel Soggiorno has been ranked by the juries of important international competitions at the top of the fritto misto of all Piedmont. "At the end of the nineteenth century, in the central square of Cremolino, there was the Caffè della Stella, run by our family.

The helm passed into my parents' hands in 1967, when we moved from the square to this 1742 residence, to continue a centuries-old tradition," Giovanni told us as we began to taste the Piedmontese starters, followed then by the excellent agnolotti and the legendary fritto misto, prepared with over fifteen ingredients including meats, vegetables and sweet components skilfully fried to order. Sipping an excellent Dolcetto d'Ovada, coming from the restaurant's very well-stocked cellar, we granted ourselves a further artistic pleasure: that of admiring the important paintings in the dining room and the corridor, the fruit of Giovanni's artistic passion.

The lovely weekend we spent in Cremolino delighted our senses, confirming what we have always thought: there is no need to go very far to discover corners full of poetry.

Francesca Bertha

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