Discovering the lavender fields in Piedmont along a sensory itinerary in seven stages through the Alexandrian and Monferrato among fragrant purple expanses, medieval villages and flowering hills.
There is a time of the year when the Alexandrian becomes a dream landscape. When the lavender is in full bloom, the hills of Monferrato are dyed with purple with the same silent intensity with which the sunset draws the horizon: a shade that does not announce itself, but captures you with scented effluents before you notice it.
From mid-June until the last days of July, when the growers' scissors run along the rows with an almost musical sound, this corner of Piedmont offers to those who search beauty and nature for a trip outside door or a whole weekend of relaxation. At one hour by car from Turin, Milan and Genoa, seven places make up an olfactory and visual itinerary of extraordinary suggestion.
Index of Article
Valmadonna, the essence of slowness
The journey begins at the foot of the hills, in the Alexandrian hamlet of Valmadonna, where Federica Reposo created Chicche di Lavanda with your hands and patience. In this small oasis of tranquility, the lavender is cultivated with natural methods, producing essential oil and a line of handmade and organic cosmetics. The flowers are geared one by one, the drying is slow and natural, the distillation takes place steam. No rush, no shortcut.
Every phase of the process, from seeding to the sale of the final product, is designed to preserve the essence and purity of the plant to the maximum. Between the rows, at sunset time, you can participate in sensory meditation sessions and massages, accompanied by cocktails at the lavender syrup. The perfume that rises from the fields in that bright light is something that remains on much longer than the cosmetics that will be bought in boutique.
Castelletto d’Erro, the village of Alto Monferrato
We go south-west, where the Val Bormida and the Erro Valley They share the breaths of the hill. Castelletto d’Erro, just 150 souls, clinging to a rocky spur, holds two panoramic points of rare effectiveness. The square tower of the 13th century, surrounded by the remains of the ancient castle, perfect panoramic point from which admire the purple fields.
And then the small church of Sant’Anna, where every third Sunday of July the statue of the saint is carried in procession through stretches in bloom. From the tower, the glance embraces the Ligurian Apennines, the Langhe, the Monviso and on clear days even the Lombard peaks. In the near valley bottom, the town of Roccaverano smells instead of goat robiola: two senses in unison.
Spigno Monferrato, heart of the production of essential oils
Coming down to the Ligurian border you reach Spigno Monferrato, a village of carved sandstone portals and noble palaces where time seems to have stopped at an imprecisated season of the eighteenth century. In the surrounding area, are scattered ancient and suggestive churches and small parish churches like medieval Chapel Madonna della Neve in Turpino and the Madonna del Casato, located along the road towards Merana, which guards Late Gothic frescoes by Maestro di Roccaverano Around (1480), one of the most complete examples of gothic-provcial painting of the Alexandrian.
But Spigno is above all the seat of Agronatura, cooperative founded in 1986 that collects the production of lavender, in addition to various other medicinal herbs, of the entire province and transforms it into essential oils, largely exported to France, and scented water for cosmetics. Visiting it by reservation means understanding the whole chain: from the fields to the distillation, to the spaccio where the essences are purchased.
Quargnento, lavender as far as the eye can see
Coming back to the plain, Quargnento offers perhaps the purest visual spectacle of the entire itinerary. The field of the Lavanda del Cascinotto by Silvia Alessio, part of the Centro Italiano di Formazione e Ricerca sul Lavanda, you reach through hazelnuts and wheat fields along a white road that seems to specially prepare the visitor to the explosion of purple as far as the eye can see.
Here comes the lavender transformed into essential oil, with current extraction of steam, and partly dried, collection in bunches and then be peeled manually and enclosed in aromatic bags handcrafted with fabrics sought to enhance the fragrance. At the top of the village, the Minor Basilica of San Dalmazio, the only basilica of the Alexandrian diocese, houses frescoes by Vincenzo Boniforti of surprising chromatic freshness.
Lu, the giant bench in the violet field
The small village of Lu is marked by one of the most photogenic views of the itinerary: the Big Bench panoramic with bright colors, lilac and yellow, is the pop element of a country that hides between the vicoletti and ancient churches an ancient and authentic quiet. It is worth pushing to the top of the village, where the Gerbido of the Civic Tower is surrounded by a park overlooking the countryside.
Viguzzolo, the garden of the Tortonesi Hills
Moving east, towards the sweet dovetails, famous for the Timorasso wine and the roads of cycling champions, you reach Viguzzolo, where since 2007 the gardener Giancarlo Nossa grows strawberries and lavender with almost obsessive care. Its purple rows are proof that love for a plant can transform a landscape. And once harvested, the lavender is then brought to the cooperative Flaming for the transformation process.
Not to be missed Parish of Santa Maria, built around the year 1000, where a wooden crucifix made of human-sized fig wood, mounted on a cross of three meters, emits an expressive power that leaves breathless.
Val Borbera, scent of mountain lavender
The great final of the itinerary is also the most unexpected. The Val Borbera, nestled among four regions in an embrace of extraordinary natural purity, is reached starting from the Strette di Pertuso: a river gorge carved by the Borbera stream between peak walls and emerald-coloured waters that prepares the visitor to something outside the municipality.
The hamlet of Vendersi, in the municipality of Albera Ligure, is the land of scarecrows: over seventy figures built with recycled materials inhabit the alleys, each with its name and history inspired by the people who once lived there. The atmosphere is that of a light and melancholic fairy tale. At the top of the village, the field of lavender, nestled among the mountains as a forgotten jewel, it smells even more intensely due to the contrast with the fresh air of the valley. Here you can buy soaps and handcrafted products: the best way to bring home a fragment of this sensory journey in the Alexandrian.
How to organize the journey between the fields of lavender in Piedmont
The itinerary is ideal for two days, staying in the area of Acqui Terme or Ovada. Lavender flowering is guaranteed from mid-June to the end of July; the moment of maximum colour intensity is generally reached in the first weeks of July. For visits to the cooperative Agronatura di Spigno Monferrato and the company Chicche di Lavanda di Valmadonna prior reservation is recommended.
