That's what they call Murazzano: a stone sentinel at 559 metres, proud and a little windswept, which for eight centuries has watched over the hills, the Alps and, on the clearest days, the sea.
The Alta Langa is the high, humble Langhe of the stories: rugged land of ridges and woods, where vineyards give way to hazelnut groves and sheep pastures. It doesn't have Barolo's fame, and luckily so: here the landscape has stayed the same as ever, a sea of hills that changes colour with every hour of the day.
up here it's always 4 or 5 degrees cooler than on the plain: in summer it's a blessing
The Torre Maestra, 33 metres of stone, was the keep of a castle that no longer exists. She remained, and she's seen a lot.
In the first decades of the 13th century, the tower rises, the keep of the fortified complex overlooking the road between the Langhe and the sea. Around it grows the fortified village, with the Bullaria and Busignano gates still standing to walk through today.
The castle belongs to the Saluzzo family, then passes to the House of Savoy. Murazzano becomes a border and market town: sheep's cheese is already travelling to the cities.
French troops cross these hills during the Italian campaign. The tower watches, as always, from above.
The Alta Langa is partisan land. These hills became the pages of "Ventitré giorni della città di Alba" and "Johnny the Partisan": here, literature has written history too.
One flight after another to the top, for the finest all-round view in the Alta Langa. From the square it's 260 steps: counted.
Beppe Fenoglio he wasn't born here, but these hills were his: as a boy he spent his summer holidays between Murazzano and San Benedetto Belbo, staying with his father's relatives. And after 8 September 1943 it was right up here that he returned: his first weeks as a partisan he lived them in a Garibaldi group operating between Murazzano and Mombarcaro.
This is his Langhe: the harsh, real one of the stories, the land of his ancestors, an example of courage and moral strength. In his books these hills aren't a backdrop: they're living characters, with their silences, their anger, their fierce beauty.
Walk towards San Benedetto Belbo and Bossolasco along the Fenoglio Trails and you're inside it: the pages are these hills, the trails are his sentences.
"On these hills, time is something you can see"
Beppe Fenoglioand from up here, time is easy to see p. 1963Two products carry the name of these hills around the world. The rest of the table is every bit as good.
Before you arrive we'll send you the exact dates for that period: some change from year to year.
A wandering dinner in eight stops through streets, small squares and the gardens of historic buildings, with five wine-tasting points, music and shows. The best evening of the summer.
starts from Piazza Umberto I, right outside our doorThe village's own cheese festival: producers' stalls, tastings and the community out on the square, just like the old days.
historic centreLocal farms, the region's wines, and the finest products to taste and take home.
through the streets of the villageCostumes, trades, shows and flavours of the 13th century, at the foot of the tower that actually saw that century.
the whole villageOn Christmas Eve the streets of the centre fill with costumed performers and lights. Spine-tingling, in every sense.
historic centre
Two apartments on the square, the village all around, the Langhe right outside the window.
