Bar To Bar in mountain bike - Tappa 7: Verduno - Alba

The last stage of this long ring that crosses the entire Langa, the route takes us from Verduno, which deserves a stop for its Belvedere, towards Roddi, and then arrives in the City of the Hundred Towers. More Barolo vineyards, truffle trees, Roero castles and towers in the background, beyond the Tanaro river, and an unmissable detour of a few kilometers to Pollenzo. We arrive in the center of Alba, to end our ride in style and be enchanted by the treasures of the city.

Verduno is a very nice and well-kept town, which houses a real royal residence (now a charming hotel) where all the Savoys lived until 1909, when the estate was purchased by the Burlotto family. Precisely in these cellars, General Staglieno, by order of the King, began the "modern" vinification of the Barolo of the Royal House: still, dry and aged in oak barrels.

The “Castello di Verduno” winery is still there, in a curious combination of Bar To Bar because Franco Bianco is from Barbaresco, while his wife Gabriella Burlotto is from Verduno… And therefore they are also the perfect summary of this beautiful tour among the Langhe of two most prestigious Italian reds. From Verduno, if we look towards the Tanaro valley, here are the Roero castles of Pocapaglia, Monticello, Guarene and the beautiful tower of Santa Vittoria (twin of that of Barbaresco which can be seen right at the bottom, beyond Alba, where the valley narrows and the Tanaro bends to the east). Under the fortress of Santa Vittoria, Carlo Alberto also had the monumental Cinzano cellars excavated to secretly create one of the first Italian sparkling wines (the first was Gancia in nearby Canelli) and to experiment on Vermouth, the father of all Italian aperitifs.

Halfway between the two royal possessions there is the neo-Gothic village of Pollenzo (built on the disappeared Roman city of Pollentia : here Stilicho stopped the Goths one last time, in vain given that Alaric conquered Rome a few years later, while Stilicho was executed by inetto Onorio) with the Agricultural Agency, which today houses the University of Gastronomic Sciences and the Wine Bank, according to an ambitious and far-sighted Slow Food project. Finally, in front of us the Langhe with the "crown" of Barolo open between Roddi and Diano, the castle of Grinzane in the middle and the other municipalities arranged in a semicircle around Barolo: at a glance all the ancient fiefdoms of the Asti bankers Falletti, today the destination and dream of a large part of the planet's wine enthusiasts. From Verduno we exit towards the Alessandria winery (then descending from the castle towards the Town Hall and then keeping to the right), beyond which our road descends towards the new hospital, then fortunately leaving it and taking a path on the right in the woods which, after 1 km, emerges onto the ridge track between the vineyards, up to a new leafy path on the left which, downhill (D2), takes us to the Monvigliero - Toetto road (Monvigliero is the best-known cru of Verduno!). We cross the asphalt strip and continue along the crest on a particularly pleasant route, which only at the last descends back to the town of Roddi on Strada Toetto, right at the entrance to the town.

Roddi is dominated by the imposing castle, today already partially recovered and home to the “Terra” International Truffle Cooking School, a successful project that will still have great room for growth. A walk is therefore certainly worth it, both for the educational truffle trail and for the visual traces of the poetry competition which has been held here for over twenty years. From Roddi we go down via Fontanassa to the valley floor, marked by the roundabout with a votive chapel. We cross the provincial road and continue towards the Tanaro and its cycle path, which we will take on the right as soon as we pass the bridge over the canal of the Verduno - La Morra hydroelectric power station. The wide, flat and spacious street sinuously follows the river in its lazy bends to arrive, after a few kilometres, alongside the Alba ring road and, finally, to cross it under the cable-stayed bridge. Now our path turns back and then turns left towards the sweetest factory in creation... the Ferrero one that brought the name of Alba (and the hazelnut) to the world.

The Ferrero Foundation, very active culturally, hosts exhibitions and conferences of national importance, just beyond, however, the "Pietro Ferrero" Research Center is a world-class excellence. But now the red towers of brick and history are already appearing on our horizon while the hexagon of ancient Alba Pompeia looms in the belt of the ring road. Let's take it to enter the porphyry streets, the bell towers, the red roofs, the bars and the shops and rediscover the ancient charm of a Savoy Piedmont, discreet but firm, modest and surprising precisely because it is unexpected and, therefore, in the end, unforgettable.