From Barolo to Barbaresco with Views of Barbaresco
Piedmont, Italy (7/6/2016)


My last full day in the Langhe was to be spent in the Barbaresco region visiting my three favorite producers there: Angelo Gaja, Bruno Giacosa, and the Produttori del Barbaresco. My friend Ezio drove down from Turin to join me for the day. My first three days were hazy and humid. Today, skies cleared, and so did my photos.

For each image, I have posted a compressed (and possibly cropped) version. Click on it to see the original, much larger image.


Here is the route I took from my hotel in Barolo to the town of Barbaresco:
© Google Maps.

Leaving Barolo:

Still very much a farming community:

About a dozen miles northeast of Barolo, just before Alba, is the town and castle of Roddi:
The castle of Roddi was built in the 14th Century by Pietrino Falletti at around the same time that he built castles in Castiglione and Serralunga d'Alba. Like those, it is owned by the Italian State and managed by the Barolo & Castles Foundation. The Castle of Roddi houses the International Culinary School of the White Truffle of Alba.

The last part of the trip from Barolo to Barbaresco involves leaving the major highway A33 and the flat plain it runs through on the west bank of the Tanaro River to take the SP3 across the river to the hilly side where all of the Barbaresco region is located:
© Google Maps.

Once you cross the Tanaro, you are heading south with the Albesani and Gallina vineyards of Neive on your left and the town of Barbaresco on your right. When I hit the turn-off for Barbaresco, the sign was down:



Views of Barbaresco from Ovello

The very last part on the SP3 runs due south along the top ridge of the Ovello vineyard, which surrounds the road on both sides.
© Google Maps.

There is a great view of the town of Barbaresco to the right (looking at the east side of the town):
In the foreground, the vineyard sloping away is the west side of Ovello.
On the right are north-facing vineyards that to my knowledge have no name.
Above this is the famous tower (torre di Barbaresco), which I will visit later in the day.

A closer view of the east side of the town of Barbaresco:

Below and to the left of the tower, the dark red building is the Produttori
del Barbaresco. Above and slightly to the right of the Produttori building,
is the roof and steeple of the Parish Church of Barbaresco.

Further to the left (south), you can see the tan building of the Gaja Winery:

At the far south end of the town, you can see the steeple of the deconsecrated,
early-19th Century Chapel of San Donato, which has been converted to the
Enoteca Regionale del Barbaresco:

To the right of the tower, in the distance you can see the town of Guarene in Roero,
rising above the plains on the far side of the Tanaro, with its magnificent palace on top.



Into the Town of Barbaresco

Once you are south of the Ovello vineyard, you make a right turn onto Via Domizio Cavazza to go up into the town of Barbaresco:

The heart of the town is one street about 200 meters long: Via Torino.
At the south end is the Enoteca Regionale del Barbaresco in the old Church of San Donato:

At the north end of Via Torino, where I parked, is the Parish Church and the Tower:

According to the town webpage, the Parish Church of San Giovanni Battista was designed by the architect Castelli, its building started in 1728 and it was opened in 1730. Its massive baroque structure was further decorated and enhanced over the years. In 1756 the bell tower was built and later an icon of San Giovanni Battista with a marble frame was added (1780). The interior has a main altar made of precious marble, which was designed by Count Rangone di Montelupo, behind it there is a fresco dedicated to San Giovanni Battista (patron saint of Barbaresco), on the left there is the chapel of Madonna del Rosario, where you can admire a statue of the Madonna surrounded by smaller images which represent the Mysteries of the Rosary, while on the right there is the chapel of San Giuseppe, which houses a painting that represents the Assumption of Saint Joseph.

On the east side of this plaza is the Produttori del Barbaresco:

At this point, my friend Ezio arrived. Given our common interest in movies,
I should have the theme from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly playing here:
I'm not sure if Ezio is Clint Eastwood or Lee Van Cleef, but I'm pretty sure I am Eli Wallach.


Next

Next, we walk down Via Torino to visit the Gaja Winery.

 

 


All original content © Ken Vastola