Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
CHERASCO & ITS SNAILS
Within the Langhe's lush wine country, Cherasco, 23km west of Alba, is best known for
lumache
(snails). The town is home to the
Istituto Internazionale di Elicicoltura
(International Institute for
Heliciculture; 0172 48 92 18;
www.lumache-elici.com
;
Via Vittorio Emanuele 55) , which
provides technical advice for snail breeders (heliciculture is edible-snail breeding). Snails in this neck
of the woods are dished up
nudo
(shell-less). They can be pan-fried, roasted, dressed in an artichoke
sauce or minced inside ravioli. Piedmont dishes made with snails include
lumache al barbera
(snails
simmered in Barbera red wine and ground nuts) and
lumache alla piemontese
(snails stewed with
onions, nuts, anchovies and parsley in a tomato sauce).
Traditional trattorias serving such dishes include
Osteria della Rosa Rossa
(
0172 48 81 33;
Via San Pietro 31; set menus €30-35;
noon-2pm & 7-11pm Fri-Tue) . Reservations are required.
Information
Tourist Office
(
www.langheroero.it
; Piazza Risorgimento 2; 9am-6.30pm Mon-Fri, 10am-6.30pm Sat
& Sun)
In the town's historic centre, this office sells walking maps and has internet access.
Getting There & Around
From the
bus station
(Corso Matteotti 10)
there are frequent buses to/from Turin (€4.50, 1½
hours, up to 10 daily) and infrequent buses to/from Barolo (€2.20, 25 minutes, two daily)
and other surrounding villages.
From Alba's
train station
(Piazza Trento e Trieste)
regular trains run to/from Turin (€4.85 via
Bra/Asti, 1½ hours, hourly).
The irregularity of buses makes touring the Langhe better by car or bike. For bike hire
(from €20 a day) book through the tourist office. Car hire goes from about €35 per day or
the tourist office can hook you up with a driver (prices vary).
Barolo Region
Wine lovers rejoice! This tiny, 1800-hectare parcel of undulating land immediately south-
west of Alba knocks out what is arguably the finest
vino
in Italy. Unbiased laypersons call
it Barolo (after the eponymous village where it is produced), but everyone else hails it as
the 'wine of kings' and discusses its velvety truffle-scented flavours with an almost reli-
gious reverence.
