Leg 14 Castino – Cravanzana 191 GTL - Grande Traversata delle Langhe • Leg 14 Castino – Cravanzana 192 Leg 14 Castino – Cravanzana Brief section through the heart of the Alta Langa immersed in woodlands and hazelnut groves. This is the realm of the hazelnut, a true delicacy of these hills. DISTANCE/PROFILE ELEVATION GAIN DIFFICULTY START FINISH 7 km 535 m 570 m BC Itinerary profle 570 m 535 m 0 Km 7 Km Castino Cravanzana GTL - Grande Traversata delle Langhe • Leg 14 Castino – Cravanzana 193 GTL - Grande Traversata delle Langhe • Leg 14 Castino – Cravanzana 196 The historic centre of Castino refects the wealth brought to the area by within stone walls and forbidding fortalices. All around you are fragrant the two Benedectine monasteries and nunnery and features a curious woods full of chestnut, linden, acacia and elm trees, and with willows along church with two façades. The castle and the remains of the tower tell about the valleys and oaks on the hilltops, which, as legend has it, await the a glorious past as a crossing point between Bormida, Belbo and Bassa thunderbolts from the gods that are what make the magical white trufes Langa. In more recent times, the town was the target of Nazi and Fascist here. retaliation in 1944. From Castino, the hilltop trail heads to Cravanzana overlooking Bosia about After a pleasant stretch through the fowery roads of the ancient village of halfway down the hill. At the crossroads for Lodola (another setting for a Castino, follow the signs for “Municipio” (Town Hall) and then keep left on work by Fenoglio, where partisans Poli and Mauri met after the winter of Via San Rocco (if you continue on, take a look at the quaint rural church of ‘44: a brief detour here is also recommended), where the grassy trail meets the same name) and then take the stone mule track to the right, that heads up for a few hundred metres with a strip of asphalt, then splits of again to steeply up to the crest (partially asphalted) in the direction of the Alta Valle the right and heads into the woods. Here, every fork in the road is marked Belbo. either by a stake or other red-and-white markings on the trees. The trail then These mule tracks, that run along the crests of the valleys and then run bends into a couple of switchbacks and comes out onto the Viarascio road, steep and narrow from one crest to another, are the hidden, but perhaps which heads down through spectacular woods and meadows to Cortemilia. most signifcant, signs of the nearly one thousand years of merchants Turn right and head back up to Cravanzana along the same paved road coming and going along the old salt roads from the sea to the Po Valley, through hazelnut groves, that are cared for like rose gardens, until you get which made these now-remote areas the centre of the world. In this regard, to the intersection outside of town. Go through this intersection into this the Belbo Valley (like the Bormida Valley and Uzzone Valley) provides medieval village with its Viale dei Caduti and the majestic silhouette of the endless opportunity to discover the glorious past and fading memories of castle dominating from above. Cravanzana is considered one of the hazelnut a romantic age that would have made poets like Foscolo, Petöf and Byron capitals of the world and is specialized in the “Tonda e Gentile delle Langhe” very happy. (now ofcially protected as the Nocciola Piemonte IGP), one of the best in Take a moment to enjoy the view out across the wildest parts of the Langhe the world. Around here, you will certainly have no trouble fnding this local where isolated houses are rare and villages wind around the hilltops, closed treat in pastries and other artisan delicacies. Legend Area RVs Information Wine Centres Tower Picnic Area Portage Museum / Eco-museum Variant Medical Assistance / Outdoor Centre Archeological Site Hospital Roero Bike Tour Site of artistic / Maintenance Point UNESCO Site cultural interest GTL - Grande Traversata delle Langhe Charging Station Castle Site of natural interest Bar to Bar Bus Stop Church / Chapel Site of historical / cultural interest Fountain / Water UNESCO area border Vista Point Lequio Berria Albaretto della Torre Cravanzana Cortemilia Langhe Roero Arguello Cerreto Langhe Torre Bormida Bergolo Pezzolo Valle Uzzone Serravalle Langhe Feisoglio Todocco Bossolasco GTL Niella Belbo Grande Traversata San Prunetto delle Langhe Benedetto Belbo Monesiglio Murazzano Gottasecca Mombarcaro Saliceto Difculty legend Ente Turismo Alba Bra Langhe Roero Langhe Roero Tourist Board Emergency number: Piazza Risorgimento, 2 - 12051 Alba (CN) - Italy tourism average skill level above average skill level advanced skill level expert skill level Tel. / Ph. +39.0173.35833 - [email protected] www.langheroero.it - www.piemonteoutdoor.it.