GTL - Grande Traversata delle Langhe - Stage 7: Mombarcaro - San Benedetto Belbo

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Highlights and tour details

From the Peak of the Langhe to the village of Fenoglio, a short route, primarily downhill, which takes us right to the heart of Langa told in the works of the great writer from these hills.

Mombarcaro, the Peak of the Langhe, at an altitude of almost 900 metres, has in its name and coat of arms the boat that recalls the sea that, according to legend, can be seen on the clearest winter days.

From the square of San Michele Arcangelo go along a paved road along which it is possible to enjoy a wide-ranging landscape until you climb to the Cascine del Battaglino, from where you continue until you arrive at the green and shaded hamlet of Lunetta di Mombarcaro, a small group of particularly charming stone houses in a state of partial abandonment, which is home to the Chapel of Santa Caterina.

From here, continue along the “Sentiero della Valle Tanaro” (SVT). Cross a rio to reach the junction for Cà di Lù (or Cadilù, the hill of the story “Pioggia e la Sposa” perhaps Fenoglio’s shortest masterpiece). Do not deviate from the route until you reach Rio Vezzea, and from here, the provincial road, which is abandoned immediately after to return on the trail. This section starts with the steps, and is very steep, bounded by dry stone walls. With its cobbled bottom, it leads us to via della Porta, an ancient road that ends under the medieval arch of San Benedetto Belbo.

In San Benedetto Belbo, holiday destination of Beppe Fenoglio, the route will continue along the trails of the Belbo Valley. The arch with the coat of arms of Del Carretto gave access to the fortified village, composed primarily of the Benedictine abbey of which we can still observe the volumes to the right of the arch itself. The tiny village features two places connected with Fenoglio and both are worth visiting. They are located between the two churches, and are: “la casa della Maestra” and the “Privativa di Placido”, the second is the protagonist of “Un Giorno di Fuoco”. The latter was an inexhaustible source of stories for the writer who spent many hours in this grocery shop/bar/osteria.

San Benedetto is Fenoglio’s place par excellence, where everything speaks of the writer and of which Fenoglio always spoke. For this reason the enthusiasts climb here to find the cemetery, the whirlpool, the houses of Mimberghe or the mills of the valley, all mentioned in the writer’s works, to find the greatness of the word written by the Faber of these hills, who as a young man dreamt of becoming a great man even just to be able to choose his tomb, up there in Bossola Pass, among the pine trees overlooking Murazzano and San Benedetto.

Attractions

San Benedetto Belbo : Urban Walls . Mombarcaro : City Gate and Medieval Arch, Historical-Ethnographic Museum, Chapel of San Rocco

Other information

Source: Unione Montana Alta Langa
Itinerary code: GTL
Recommended period: Apr - Nov
Access by public transport: Yes
Classification: Medium and low mountain provincial
Provinces crossed: Langhe Monferrato e Roero

Departure, arrival and municipalities crossed

Departure

Chiosco
Mombarcaro
12070 Mombarcaro (CN)
Cuneo

see on map

Arrival

Via della Porta, 13
12050 San Benedetto Belbo (CN)
Cuneo

see on map

Links

http://www.langheroero.it/

Langhe Monferrato and Roero