A panoramic view of a fairy-tale world: a weekend in Ponzone

When the grey city routine begins to tire you, a place like this is exactly where you long to escape: a village immersed in greenery, reached after a few minutes of climbs and bends, a small effort amply rewarded with a breathtaking view. Ponzone is a place that seems to have come out of a fairy tale: situated on an isolated ridge, from which opens the second most panoramic view in Italy, over the Alps and the very green hills that reach down to the sea. They even say that the particular brightness of the sky here is due to the presence of the sea, only a few dozen kilometres away as the crow flies.

This place must have pleased greatly also those who passed through many years before us: indeed, if the earliest human presences so far identified at Acqui Terme, the beautiful spa town we crossed to get here, date back to the Neolithic, on the heights of Ponzone objects from the Palaeolithic have even been found. The first document mentioning the place is dated 967, and over the centuries the village was the seat of the marquises Aleramo, Del Carretto and the Palaiologos of Constantinople. The first walk of our weekend in Ponzone, on a splendid autumn day, began from the square of the Parish Church, consecrated in 1627, although the work to build it had begun fifty years earlier.

This little square is one of the most beautiful in the world: while the church preserves inside several precious 16th-century frescoes, a few steps away there is a panorama over the mountain ranges that could inspire generations of future painters. It is no coincidence that a coin-operated telescope is positioned right there, allowing you to bring this dream landscape close to your eyes. And if it's a question of art, the Belvedere of Ponzone is also enriched by an open-air exhibition: together with us, faces carved in stone, positioned near the telescope, gaze a little at the square and a little at the panorama. Faces that seem to be those of the farmers who, with their produce, make the cuisine of these areas unique, faces in which the stories of these places are carved. Ponzone was the birthplace of an important 19th-century painter, Pietro Ivaldi, known as the Mute of Toleto.

Born in the hamlet of Toleto, the deaf-mute artist left us a vast output of paintings, especially frescoes that are present in numerous churches of the Alto Monferrato, but also in Liguria and Lombardy. Continuing our walk we arrived at a very pretty park lit by the rays of the autumn sun, which is also part of a Nature Trail proposed by the Municipality. On the lawn of the park we saw some lovely mushrooms smiling proudly at those passing by. Staying in the elegant rooms of the Albergo Ristorante Malo, a historic establishment in the centre of Ponzone, we had the pleasure of enjoying typically Piedmontese dinners, but made with the imagination and creativity of Cinzia. "The famous filetto baciato was born in this house; Romeo Malo had invented it towards the end of the 1800s," Cinzia, who took over the restaurant from the Malos and runs it with her husband Enrico, tells us.

We begin with a variation of starters, including the filetto baciato, the foie gras parcel with pears and cinnamon in red wine, a pepper flan with bagna cauda, the capponette with fondue, and cubes of Fassona fillet with truffle, all with excellent homemade bread and focaccia. "For us it is essential to put customers at ease. That's why we offer three types of fixed-price menus," Cinzia explains as we choose the first courses: the mirtille (that is, fettuccine with whirled blueberries inside) with duck breast ragu, a seasonal variation with anchovy cream, which consists of three types of ravioli, in three different colours according to the filling: cardoon, pepper and Jerusalem artichoke. Our friends opt instead for the pumpkin gnocchetti with mountain fontina fondue and hazelnut.

For the main courses our group splits between the stracotto with Castagnole ruche, the Freisa suckling pig loin, the rabbit in civet, and the local cockerel alla Babi, that is, the cockerel opened and browned, laid out flat in the shape of a frog (hence the name), under the weight of a large pot, a method that makes the meat particularly tender. We accompany these delights with seasonal side dishes and with excellent Piedmontese wines, chosen from the 170 labels available. The sweet epilogue of our dinner sees us tasting a hazelnut cake, a semifreddo with nougat, and a shortcrust cake with an apricot-and-grappa heart, as well as the little pastries produced by the house. We'll soon repeat the pleasant experience of the weekend in Ponzone, also to visit the wine bar that from the end of the year will further enrich the Malo hospitality universe.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Albergo Ristorante Malo Piazza Garibaldi, 1 Ponzone (AL) 0144/78075 0144/78124 Open all year round