New Post for a New Year - Nearby Manta Castle

Manta Castle

Here it is past the middle of January and time's awasting.  I must make haste to keep up with some very modest goals I have set forth for myself and my blog for this year. I noticed that when I was writing a roundup of things to do in this area on my last post, that there were many interesting attractions noticeably missing from my lists.  I have been meaning to get around to writing about a few of them for a long tim. Others I thought I already had written up, but couldn't locate them perusing through my back posts, so I thought I would make it a goal to post a least once a month about some of the local attractions that we send our guests off to see and usually have taken in ourselves at least once if not a few times.

One such glaring omission is splendid Manta Castle (Castello di Manta), just past and overlooking the charming town of Saluzzo that sits where the base of the Cottian Alps (Alpi Cozie) and Po river plains unite, in the neighboring province of Cuneo.

Monviso of the Cottian Alps meets the Po river plains

Manta boasts a small castle perched on its hillside that has been returned to its former glory when the Lords of Saluzzo called it their home. The original building dates back to the 12th century and over the years the building grew with expansions and richly decorate with various additions of masterful and fantastical frescos whose handiwork still remains anonymous.  The current family descendants  enlisted the help of Italy's preservation society, FAI to help raise funds to restore the deteriorated  paintings, replace furnishings that had disappeared over the centuries and breath life back into the castle. These frescos are said to be a rare treasure of late gothic paintings still found in northern Italy. They really are worth a visit as they are so well preserved and magnificently interesting.

Héros, Heroines, and the Fountain of Youth Frescos

In addition to the main castle they have also restore an adjacent church and plans to continue to restore other surrounding buildings in the neighborhood. They really have done a fine job. I especially like that included with the very modest entrance fee of around €7.50 adults and €3.00 for children (2016 prices) is the use of complimentary headphones to insure you get the most out of your self guided visit. There are a number of different languages offered and they do periodically update the narration to reflect the ongoing historical discoveries or completion of nearby ongoing projects. 

Manta Castles' Church

 The castle is of a manageable size so that it makes for a great half day visit and suitable for children, who will enjoy the artifacts and furnishings as it is not only the paintings and church that are of interest. Nearby Saluzzo is another great place to stop also for a bit of shopping, sight seeing or eating, naturally. The grounds are peaceful and would make for a lovely picnic setting. You can also walk up through the woods or park closer and take a more direct route.

Castle life

Whatever you do, when you find yourself in northern Italy, you will want to make sure and not miss out on this local treasure, when you visit our slice of Piedmont, preferably when you come and stay with us.  We'll be waiting for you with many more suggestions.

Bella Baita BandB - Italian Alps Retreat

The castle is open Tuesdays - Sunday, closed Mondays (unless it is a holiday in which they say they are open. Always good to check)

10:00 - 18:00 March 1 through the end of September and

10:00 - 17:00 October through 27 of November.
Last entrance 1/2 before closing

Closed December through February.

Directions to Castello di Manta from Bella Baita B&B and Italian Alps Retreat

Out with 2015 and Benvenuto 2016

Part of our Bella Baita view

Greetings from the Italian Alps. 

2015 is rapidly coming to a close and 2016 is not far ahead. We' re happy to say that we've had a superb year here at Bella Baita. After a couple of quieter years, it seems people decided to move around for their holidays this  summer and we were delighted that many decided to come our way.

Monviso on the horizon on the way to Bella Baita

We enjoyed  "Cooking Together"  with some of our guests, as we offer cooking lessons for everyone. and we always enjoy our forays to the Pinerolo market on Wednesday or Saturday, when we aren't foraging from our garden.

Family group lesson

Some things I made

Garden gifts

Market Tomatoes

Cutting Parmigiano cheese to order. 

We also had some folks that enjoyed learning about our local wines while they sipped and sample the local wine whilst learning about our traditions here.

Wine tasting in the garden

There were walk ins in the mountains, excursions out and about, meals together in the evenings and making new friends and in some cases reuniting with old friends. All in all it is good to be here in the mountains and be able to open our home, share our cuisine, wine, neighborhood, culture and passion for Piedmont with all whom stop in. We hope that your coming year is a blessed one and perhaps you might come and visit with us and share in some of our adventures this coming 2016. 

I've listed a few links below to some other articles I have written about other things there are to do in the area that you might find of interest. 

Happy reading and exploring our Piemonte mountains here in Val Chisone.

Happy New Year to all our friends and all our friends we haven't met yet.

 Articles about Points of interest close to Val Chisone

• Fenestrelle Fortress / Forte di Fenestrelle

• Lake Avigliana and Sacra San Michele

• Vendemmia in Val Chisone

• Occitan Dancing in Usseaux

• Piemonte Birthplace of the Slow Food Movement

• Waldenses or Valdasians - the first Protestants

• Sculptor and Ghironda Maker

• Pinerolo's Man in the Iron Mask

From our Home to yours, Buon Anno  or Happy New Year 2016!

Bella Baita in the Snow last January 2015

Summer Bella Baita Highlights 2015

Bella Baita and View of the French Border Along with Our Vegetable Garden

Time flies and the spring and summer season has passed me by in a blink. I had great intentions of keeping up on sharing the goings on of our life here in the alps, but alas that was not to be. We have had a great season this year with incredible hot sunny weather and friends visiting from around the globe. There are always so many directions to go when there are gardens to plant and tend, meals to plan, make and serve and new and old friends to enjoy visiting with. So here it is the end of August I guess I will share some of the highlights of this past season and savor the moments with you now that I have the luxury of time to do so. Naturally there is still plenty to do around here, but the pace has slowed and the season is changing. I  hope you like photos cause I am going to let them do most of the talking.

My childhood friend Denise and Me (Marla) What a great visit!

Unlike last year when the summer weather was less than stellar, this summer we have had blue skies and very warm temperatures, scorching and record breaking in parts of Italy. Even our little slice of heaven in the alps has been so warm that we've been sleeping with all the windows open for weeks now. Usually we tend to only have a short period of heat as the mountains seem to cool off quickly when the sun goes down but this year has been different. Warm days, warm nights, garden bounty with gelato and sorbet applied liberally and frequently.

Home made Strawberry Sorbetto

The summer not only brings friends out to tramp around our forests, sample our cooking and discover this little known part of the Italian Alps, it also brings us a variety of volunteers that work along side us during the season. Whether we are preparing the garden or tending it, chopping and stacking wood for the winter, weeding around our house, cleaning between stones on the old family home that is being reborn, whilst cooking together when we have cooking classes and cleaning up after meals, we always have time to learn more about other peoples lives from different parts of the world, and that is an enjoyable bonus to the season and extra hands helping out is always a big bonus. We thank all of our volunteers for all their hard work and companionship that made this season and every season such a success.  You guys rock!

Some Woofers and Workaway Volunteers 2015

A lot of our life here revolves around food as we are keen gardeners, cooks and market shoppers.
The twice weekly market in Pinerolo is one of our favorite stops. I love buying directly from the people that produce the food we buy and putting the money directly into their hands that are often gnarled and usually rough. It is a good feeling. We have become friendly with so many of them over the years and two of my favorites have finally been retired from the market by their daughter. At 86 years young they have been coming to the Pinerolo's farmers market for well over 60 years, 6 days a week, bringing everything on their bikes as neither ever drove a car. Luigi always had a trailer behind his rattle trap bike that he filled with recycled crates out of dumpster bins that overflowed with fresh picked fruits ad vegetable with the occasional chicken or rabbit to boot whilst he maneuvered his bike and cargo with ease, come rain or shine.  Their vitality in their older years amazed me and I admire their frugality and ingenuity. His gnarled hands tied up bundles of greens and carrots with lengths of flexible willow.  No twist ties for them. They had green beans so slender and tender and the most delicious figs that makes you want to sing.  But with the advancement of age and a few tumbles with thier bikes they are no longer coming to the market. It is hard for me to see their spot at the market empty or slightly taken over by the nearby vendors and I have no doubt it has been a difficult adjustment for them. Here's a small collage of some of my photos of them.

Laura and Luigi our favorite Pinerolo market vendors. Fabrizio and Marla are with them in the bottom corner

 So between our garden and shopping in the market, we manage to serve some wonderful food throughout the year. We love featuring our local Piemontese specialties with whatever  is in season and looks inviting. 

Our mountain garden

Our tempting array of culinary treats.

Picture left to right top to bottom...involtini with garden green beans, selection of local cheeses, peach and blackberry rustic tart, agnolotti del plin (meat ravioli), gifts from our garden, grilled aubergine and zucchini with dried tomato hazelnut pesto

We also love making pizza and baking my wild yeasted bread in our wood fired oven. There's nothing quite like the food that comes out of that oven. It's flavorful and fun to cook with.

Our home canned tomatoes make our pizza sauce all the more delicious

One of the highlights of our summer too is cooking together with our friends and doing a bit of wine tasting of local varieties, like Barbera, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo, and Arneis. Pasta and raviolo making as well as gnocchi as well as bread and desserts, is a wonderful way to spend some of your holiday time with us. 

       One of the highlights of our summer too is cooking together with our friends and doing a bit of wine tasting of local wines.

It might seem like it's all about food, it isn't even though that is a large part of of our focus.
There are however mountains to see and climb or ride up on a ski lift during the summer.

Bella Baita View of the French Border

Prali Ski lift

There is the largest fortress in Europe, often referred to as the "Great Wall of Piedmont", to see.

Fortezza di Fenetrelle

 Quaint villages to explore.

Street scene in Usseaux

Music and events to catch.

And so much more to discover. 

We hope you'll come and visit with us and discover a part of the Alps worth finding. 

More stories and recipes coming up now that we have moved into the next part of the year. 

ciao for now....Marla

Snow Time

Bella Baita all in white

At long last winter has arrived with a blast of cold that has set our teeth chattering and running to stoke our wood fired stoves with as much wood as we possibly can. This winter has been so mild that it seemed we would just bypass it all together. My geraniums and lavender have put out new growth while lounging in their winter storage spot. We had a variety of strange weather these past few months, dry and warm like September, leaving the forest so dry that it didn't take much for a wildfire to spring up and take hold, just a few kilometers behind us. It was clearly visible and we watched it warily spread out and become unmanageable due to the ferocious winds that fanned the flames for a couple of days. Alas, the fire was contained, thanks to the effort of many volunteers, and then snow arrived. Peace reigns in the kingdom again. Hurrah!  We received about 1/2 meter or a foot and ad a half or so and now we're still waiting for the promised blue skies, but the sparkly white down comforter is a welcome change, not only for it's beauty, but also with the knowledge that our water supplies will be sufficiently replenished. That bodes well for a bounteous porcino season come spring. That alone makes even the haters of shoveling and cold temperatures warm up to our latest weather.

Now you see why the shoveling isn't so much fun

A walk in the neighborhood

Home again, home again, jiggity jog...

The Loss of a Giant

It's sad losing an old friend, even when it's a big ole tree. No it's not on the level of a human life. It is wrenching, at least to me, to see a grand majestic old tree, three of the actually, and some say over 300 years old, lying on its side, roots completely snapped off, almost like they didn't even exist.  A fallen giant. One gargantuan beech tree that had given so much pleasure over the years to many. There were initials carved into the trunk professing love that perhaps still lived on and maybe not. The spread of its limbs and broad green leaves shaded a pilone or way station that housed a serene ceramic Madonna inside where many had laid flowers by long burning candles in tall red glass cylinders over the years. Many stopped by when out for a stroll in the neighborhood. It was hard not to as it had been lovingly decorated with biblical scenes depicting John the Baptist and San Antonio  blessing the animals. A lovely point easily missed whizzing by in a car on the way through to the Grandubbione valley end of our paved road. However, on foot one is easily drawn in for a moment or two of contemplation, perhaps even petition or maybe a little solace on our Serre Marchetto hilltop.

Our almost 300 year old beech tree 

And so it was with great sadness that we discovered this sight when we strolled to the top of our road after a day and night of ferocious winds. The neighbors were already there and beginning to remove some of its limbs as it was blocking the road. The owners of the house were very lucky that the tree didn't fall the other direction or on anyone on the road. It fell about one in the morning according to a nearby neighbor. The most amazing part of this story is that not only did the tree come down squarely on the cement house that housed the ceramic Madonna, completely and utterly destroying the structure, the ceramic Madonna's head and shoulders were still completely intact. The lower half of her body was mostly gone, but her face and head were still in one piece. Very, very surprising indeed. Someone had set her up in front of the tree and now she has been put aside to be restored for the new prayer station that the neighborhood has already begun to discuss rebuilding plans.

The surviving Madonna

 There was a steady stream of people coming up to see the remains for themselves as the story of the felling of this old tree made it into two of the local papers. There was a fair amount of interest for a couple of days afterwards and even a small busload of school children yesterday came up to survey the scene. It's all mostly gone now, cleaned up, cut up and hauled away. It's a big open space now and will take some time to get use to and I must say I am looking forward to the rebuilding process, but the tree won't be able to be replaced, especially not that close to the house either, but it will be replaced and I welcome that.

Here are some photos of the tree and pilone that I took when they were both still intact. It's nice to be able to share this lovely companions in their former glory. I hope you will enjoy them as we have here.

Winter wonderland

San Giovanni Battista on San Giovanni day

John the Baptist 

 San Antonio Abate blessing the animals

Perfect Day on the Via Lattea

Nothing does away the midwinter blahs for me like a day out skiing. After having lived and worked in the heart of ski country and the ski industry of Colorado for many years, I have not lost my passion for crisp blue skies, pristine snowfall, the crunch of boots on the snow and the wind in your face while hurtling down the slopes. Even though I don't get to go as regularly as I once did, my passion is undimmed. Perhaps that has sharpened my appreciation and made it all so much more enchanting when I  find myself  on the slopes skiing with someone I love, reveling in spring like conditions in February.
I'm more of a "don't let the weather stop you" kind of a skier, who can enjoy the various conditions for what they are, from many years of living and skiing in them. Fabrizio, however, prefers the sun on his face, a mere headband if he must and no clouds in the sky, when we satisfy our need for speed on the slopes. I can't say I mind either. Recently we enjoyed one of those  completely perfect days. We had just the right balance of crunch to the snow and yet soft enough to carve a turn like pulling your knife through butter at that just right spreading consistency. So it was, when we made our way up to the Via Lattea or Milky Way and skied the day away.

Fabrizio on top of the World Cup Down hill run

The Via Lattea (MIlky Way) is made up of 8 individual ski resorts comprising the largest inter connected ski area in Europe. The Montgenevre area is in France, so you can start in one country and end up in another for lunch. We, however, were not quite that ambitious that day. Our day began in Sestriere which crowns both tops of our Chisone and parallel Susa valley.  Even though Sestriere was in the shadow in the early morning, it was mild enough to be quite pleasant ski conditions. 

First light coming over to Sestriere

Ater a few runs, we decided to head for where the sun was already warming the slopes and to keep our faces to the sun otherwise it might just get a bit too warm making the snow slushy as it does in the spring. Luckily it maintained those perfect conditions all day, sun, warmth and slick snow. We decided to make a large loop including Sansicario and Sauze D'Oulx before beating a path back to Sestriere for a late lunch.  We made our way across the road and up and over to Sansicario on the gondola where we were greeted with quite the cluster of people on the top where 2 gondolas meet.

Cable car up and over to Sansicario from Sestriere

It didn't take long to lose the crowd on the wide open slopes that would be very encouraging for the more timid skiers and those with the whole family along. Fabrizio told me that Sansicario was built in the 1970's as a family resort with an eye towards the Fiat factories and it's workers and their families. It was very pleasant and warm, so much that we began to peel off layers. 

Wide open ski pistes in Sansicario

 I love all the cool cabins and mountain huts there are to stop in, although once we get going skiing, it's hard to want to stop too much.

Lunch stop in Sansicario

We were skiing like we had been skiing every day this season, but my legs eventually told me other wise, so we opted to take our lunch break at La Tana della Volpe. We made a small foray into Sauze d"Oulx before heading back over to the top of what was the Men's 2006 Olympic and Sestriere's annual World Cup downhill run and having some lunch and catching up with our friend Massimo, a local Pragelato man who has gone to great efforts and personal expense to transform and maaintain this former cable car house into a warm and welcoming hotel high in the alps. 

La Tana della Volpe

What a great stop this is, always. The view is spectacular, the interior charming and cozy, the welcome warm and the food delicious. Typical Italian mountain hut fare at its best. 

Cozy interior of La Tana della Volpe lunch stop

We opted for the oh so traditional polenta, sausage and cheese fonduta. Not only was it filling it was wonderful. To have good quality ingredients in a mountain hut that isn't so easy to get the products up to it is a feat and commitment to excellence that I heartily applaud. They make their food from scratch daily as well as their foccacia that they turn into hearty sandwiches. Of course you can find a selection of excellent traditional meats and cheeses, and naturally, pasta dishes to boot. If you want to continue the fun after hours, it is a hotel as well that will blow you away when you awaken in the morning to the stunning panoramic views this alpine hotel affords the lucky few who discover this treasure. I can't say enough about what a special place La Tana delle Volpe (the fox's lair) would be to stay at for a few days. Do note that you do have to be able to ski to stay there. 

There are many reasons to stay and play in the Via Lattea, €34 all day ticket to 6 of the 8 ski areas would be one reason of many. There are other deals on multiple and half days too.  I do enjoy telling you about them, my dear reader, and most of all,  I love the adventure of discovering them too. So thank you for reading along and spurring me on. You might consider visiting our part of the Italian alps. Make your ski or summer hiking holiday part of  a variety of stays. If you don't want to ski everyday, come and stay with us at Bella Baita B&B, and we'll take you to the market in Pinerolo and show you around and teach you how to make something with what we find or point you in the direction of self guided day trips to a small castle or imposing monastery for example. There is something here for just about everyone. We'll do our best to make sure you make the most of your time and won't be disappointed. 

Occitan Dancing at Usseaux Festa

Playing the Ghironda and fishamonica

This time of the year we are starting to have the local sagre and feste for everything under the sun that is harvested or gathered in the woods. We have the Porcino, the polenta, chestnut, truffle, potato, honey, apples, and, and, well, you get the idea. However it is just starting to get into gear and I still have one fun summer festival that I didn't quite get posted before we officially went to autumn harvest festivals, so I'm putting it in here to tantalize.

All join in

All of you that enjoy folk music and dancing do put it in your diary to make plans to join us next August for a bit of dancing in the high alps of Val Chisone.

Town ovens and wash basins looking up towards Ossiera Park

This particular village festival of Usseaux, that we found ourselves kicking our heels up and joining in on a bit of two stepping and twirling around the village piazza, is in upper Chisone valley, just up the road from us.  I've written about Usseaux on more than one occassion as it is one of my all time favorite villages. You can read those posts here and here. Chisone valley has a rich and varied history being known as one of the Valdesian or Waldensen valleys, where the first Protestants, long before the reformation,  ended up in to avoid persecution back in the 11th century. These valleys were then part of France and the Savoy kingdom, and later became known as part of Italy's alps. They were, and still are, the western most edge of what was known as Occitania. Most people, if they are familiar with Occitania, think of it as a language particular to France, but it seems that it is a dialect of Catalonia. There are so many dialects in this area, that it is hard to keep up, especially as I struggle along in my grasp of Italian. Fabrizio, who also speaks French, understands Occitan, but doesn't speak it, although there are people here who do. Our friend Enrico Bernard, of "Bernard Elixirs" , who lives across the Chisone river from us and whose family are Valdesian, speaks a Patois dialect in their family and also speaks Occitan. See what I mean about a lot of dialects going on? Sheesh!  Mountain people seems to have a strong affinity with the essence of Occitan  and it's history. It seems to represent a sort of special designation of pride, independence and fierce individualism that strikes a cord with many people and very much so with the mountain dwellers.  

Occitan flag with Usseaux' cow bell awards collection displayed in the town library.

We took a friend along with us that was keen to check out the festivities. We did our favorite Usseaux tour, that commences with a stroll around the utterly charming hamlet. Tiny though Usseaux may be, a meander  though the village over  the well maintained gray stone streets, will be rewarding indeed whilst taking in  the various hand painted murals and vertical meridians that decorate the mostly all restored buildings. The large slate roofs are extremely impressive espcially when you consider the cost of restoring them, let alone the fact that if you are restoring an exisiting roof and trying to match or patch, the stones must be hand cut to fit in place. We observed on older artisan plying his craft one day as he worked to replace part of the roof on the local church. Hard work indeed. The mural painting is an old tradition that has only more recently been revived though out our valleys. You get a sense of Usseaux's former prominence in the valley before most people drifted away due to the myriad of reasons small towns shrink and sometimes disappear. This years celebration honored the local mayor that has made it her legacy to see Usseaux bulidings restored and not left to completely decay. The windows are filled with overflowing flower boxes, that compliments the prolific murals scattered through out the village walls.

We also made sure to have a snack on the sunny patio of the traditional trattoria "La Placette" that has been serving up polenta with wild game stews in addition to an excelent selection of the hearty local cheeses and tempting creamy desserts, just to name a few of their offerings, for the past 30 years. Mountain air brings on a hunger and thirst that will be readily satisfied by this family's friendly care.

And of course we had to have a nosey into the local cheese shop that if you aren't persistent, you might just miss if you don't ring their doorbell. This lovely old cantina, which was a barn in previous lifetimes, stores and doubles as a selling point for the family's hand crafted cheeses, in which Toma and Plaisintif are the main stars.

Hmm,  choices, choices.

Then on to the music and dancing. The music was provided by two musicians who with 4 other musicians make up the group, Airondassa, but for this day they brought their fisharmonica, ghironda and oboe and kept us breathless for a few hours. I love this kind of dancing because all can join in even if you don't know all the steps and there is always some willing to help you twirl around the dance floor. It was such fun. I captured a small bit of their traditional Occitan music and will leave you with a small taste of the fun. But don't just take my word for it. Come and join in the fun sometime. We'll help you find your way.