The Farmhouse, the Barbera and the Moscato: the Charm of Nizza Monferrato

“Cuore di collina”: that is how Nizza Monferrato is described on the town council's website, and you only have to travel along one of the roads leading here to understand why. A landscape of warm and reassuring beauty: leave behind the high hills and woods of the Ovada Monferrato, and here the traveller finds a gentler panorama, painted in every possible shade of green. Flowering meadows, big trees looking out at the endless rows of vineyards that stretch for tens of kilometres. The heart of this breathtaking landscape is a town that over the long centuries of its history has always stood out for its industriousness, culture and imagination, despite often being in the sights of fierce attacks by an enemy who wanted to seize the riches of Nizza.

The idea of spending a long weekend in Nizza Monferrato came to us after seeing on the Internet some reproductions of old wine labels, drawn by a famous painter from Alessandria who was linked to several places in the Monferrato, Franco Sassi. The artist, who died in 1993, also dedicated numerous works, between prints and watercolours, to these places of eternal charm: the Monferrato houses of his paintings, his farmhouses immersed in the fog and in landscapes in colours sometimes warm, sometimes blurred, have enhanced this area and continue to intrigue tourists. Sassi was a great friend of Arturo Bersano, founder of an important winery, as well as of the Bersano Museum of rural life and wine prints.

Admiring the old presses, quarter-barrels, glasses and goblets thick enough to last over time, along with a whole series of tools for working the land, was the first stop of our weekend of full immersion in the world of vineyards and in the genuine atmospheres of country life. One section of the museum is entirely dedicated to a rare collection of prints and labels from the last four centuries, within which there are also numerous creations by Franco Sassi.

After the memories of the past we head towards the pleasures of the present, reaching our home for this holiday: naturally we could only choose a place that had the wine-growing tradition of Nizza Monferrato in its dna: the Agriturismo Cascina Monsignorotti, in the San Nicolao district, stands on one of the most beautiful hills of the Nizza area and is the natural evolution of the work of fully four generations of the Lacqua family, who here produce high-quality, limited-run wines, keeping the winemaking methods of the past. Every room bears the name of a grape variety grown on the farm: we occupy those of the Barbera and the Moscato, and already the idea of sleeping in a room named after a wine makes us forget the stress of the city.

But the best is yet to come: the next day, during a guided tour of the vineyards, Mr Carlo, who carries on the remarkable work of this farm together with his wife, reveals to us the secrets of the art of winemaking, then letting us taste some of the best wines from his cellar. "Producing good wine takes a lot of effort, and our family will not be able to carry on this work for the coming generations, so, even though this farm is our life, we intend to sell. A family with several young children and the will to work is what is needed to carry on here," Mr Carlo says. A few words, which really convey the value, human value too, that makes every bottle of wine produced here unique, and which also make us reflect on the frantic life we tend to lead in the city.

Our stay in Nizza Monferrato continues with long walks in nature, and pleasant afternoon hours spent chatting by the agriturismo's pool. On the last day, after consuming our abundant breakfast that takes us back to the healthiest country tradition, namely a basket containing bread, wine, cured meats, cheese and seasonal fruit, we return once more to take a walk in the town, and admire Palazzo Crova, presumably built on the remains of a castle, as well as "El Campanon", that is the spectacular bell tower of the Town Hall building.

We return to the city enriched by an experience we will remember for a long time and which we hope to repeat soon. Meanwhile we recall the lovely little trip to Nizza Monferrato by sipping the good wine that Mr Carlo gave us while we think back to the tranquillity of the Monferrato hills.

Francesca Bertha