The miracle among the Tortona hills: A trip to Garbagna, between nature and taste

The landscapes that inspired numerous paintings by Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo, and those that surrounded Fausto Coppi as a boy during many of his bike rides: in short, the Tortona hills, about an hour's drive from Milan or Turin, but also from Genoa, passing through the Val Borbera. For our holiday under the banner of tranquility, nature and good food we chose Garbagna, a town rich in history, immersed in greenery, a sort of nature reserve where you can recover the energies dispersed during the hectic life in the city. Garbagna rises at the end of the Val Grue, and its origins, according to various hypotheses, date back to the Late Middle Ages. But it was in May 1341 that the history of this town was tinged with a beautiful sky-blue color: a poor mute shepherdess, who was grazing her flock on the nearby hills, saw a beautiful lady appear, who was none other than the Blessed Virgin.

The girl, miraculously healed by Mary, suddenly regained the gift of speech and running home amazed the whole family telling what had happened, which also included an important promise: if in the town they had a sanctuary built in honor of the Madonna, she would offer her protection and the wars that had long persisted in that territory would come to an end. And so it was: the war between Guelphs and Ghibellines ended on June 7 of the same year, and in a short time a chapel dedicated to the Virgin was built. After settling into the beautiful and romantic rooms of Casa Castellini, the farmhouse where we spent this regenerative holiday, we immediately go to discover the town, and as a first destination, we reach on foot, walking up a stepped staircase starting from the very central Piazza Principe Doria, the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Lago.

The peace one breathes around the Sanctuary, surrounded by a beautiful lawn with a few cherry trees, is immense, and soon turns into inner peace. The cherry trees are part of the riches of Garbagna, in fact here the Bella is cultivated, a particularly good variety of cherry. Until the 1980s the production of cherries in the town was very intense, but that this tradition is still alive is attested, among other things, by the Cherry Festival, which recurs during the month of June. During our stay we admired the liveliness of the historic center, the beautiful Piazza Principe Doria always animated by a coming and going of people strolling under the splendid horse chestnuts in front of the Oratory of San Rocco, whose facade is adorned with the frescoes of Carlone.

But here, inside the Church of San Giovanni Battista, whose bell tower in 1828 resisted a destructive earthquake, there is also the oldest wooden organ of the diocese of Tortona, originally from 1600. Walking up a slope alley that starts from the square, we also reached the remains of the Castle, in particular a suggestive square tower immersed in greenery. After a first day of long walks on foot, we decided to take it easier afterwards, taking advantage of the possibility of nice carriage rides, pulled by the horses of Casa Castellini. It was a very fun experience: we were able to admire the gentle surrounding landscape in the manner of the lords of old. To relax, we also spent a few hours in the pool of the farmhouse, to the joy of the children of our friend, who were convinced to get out of the water only on the promise of immediately being able to see the cows and hens of the farm.

"This farmhouse was my great-grandparents', in fact the Semino family has run the farm for four generations, since the early nineteenth century, while the farmhouse was born twenty years ago," Fabio tells us as we sit down at the table, ready to abandon ourselves to the pleasures that good local cuisine offers. We start with appetizers based on cold cuts produced by the farm, and we also taste local cheese with wine jam and a savory zucchini tart. As a first course, we take an irresistible plate of country-style rice, with vegetables, pancetta and pears, while our friends opt for tagliolini with vegetables. We follow the first courses with a dish of beef salt-cured meat, also tasting a bit of poultry prepared according to Piedmontese tradition. We wash it all down with wines from the Tortona hills, in particular Timorasso and Barbera.

To close on a sweet note, we take the fruit bavarian, and we don't give up tasting the typical Piedmontese bonet, as well as the mint panna cotta. After a few days spent in Garbagna we return to the city perfectly relaxed, convinced of the fact that every now and then it's really important to unplug and immerse ourselves in the authentic rhythms of nature.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Agriturismo Casa Castellini Fraz. Cà Castellini Garbagna (AL) 0131/877878