2011 June Langhe Trip - Cortemilia

Friday, the last day of our tour of the Langhe.  We decided to drive through the hills to the town of Cortemilia.  When I was here a month ago, it seemed the roads in this direction were particularly scenic and pleasant.  Following check-out at the B&B at 11:00 am.,  the hour or so drive would get us into Cortemilia a little before lunch.  This would let us walk about a little then grab quick lunch before taking leisurely drive back to Torino where we had reserved for the evening's dinner.

The day was cloudy and a little hazy as well, continuing the trend for the holiday weekend.  But the green of the Langhe hills looks splendid in any case.  Perhaps the way the green hills Ireland always seems attractive in photo's with fog and mist. The roads were curvy, narrow, and hilly but there was minimal traffic so the drive was nice.

Once arriving in Cortemilia, we decided to call a coworker that lives there with his parents on weekends to see if he would like to meet us for a coffee.  After a few moments of comparing schedules, we concurred on a  on a coffee at 2:00 at his parents house, hoping they would not go to a lot of trouble.  (Keeping in mind the last time I stopped by their house for lunch, I was treated to a wonderful 10 course Piemontese dinner!)

So we went about our mid day knowing we would have a nice chat and coffee in a couple hours.  QB lost no time finding the open air market and noticed a number of clothing items she needed for the summer.  For my part, it was a welcome discovery as the last time we shopped in Torino was pretty much a disaster.  I.e. little selection, long lines at the check out, and nothing looked right.  So about 5 itmes, 15 minutes, and  50 Euro's later, the need for summer clothing update was satiated.  Not a bad outcome just as the market was winding down for the day.

This gave us about an hour to kill, which we used to check out the town, take some photo's, and take a light lunch.  Wikipedia says Cortemilia has a population of about 2500 but it seems significantly larger than that.   In terms of structures it looks two or three times the size of Chelsea, but in Chelsea, or other rural American towns, you only see the commercial core,  and a lot of the population is disbursed in the surrounding neighborhoods and countryside.  In Italy, even the small towns are dense with multistory dwellings so it probably seems more populous then it really is.  Like many small Italian towns, Cortemilia has seen many businesses leave the city, and as a result the population has diminished since its peak a hundred years ago.  The town is a mix of nicely maintained or restructured building along with some more weathered  structures.  In either case the town has a lot of character and seems like a nice place to live.   There are many more covered porticos along the shopping streets then you generally see in a town this size.  This would seem to indicate a vibrant economy in the past.  Nestled in the Langhe hills and less than an hour from the sea, it is easy to see why the young people are disappointed that most work is elsewhere in Italy now.

How many towns you know have a thousand year old Saracen tower overlooking the town.  Along with the tower shown above.  I am posting a small selection that captures some of the town.