GTL on a MTB - Variant 7A

A deviation from the standard GTL itinerary that takes you to Murazzano, one of the most characteristic of the Alta Langa villages featuring one-ofa-kind vistas and a goat cheese that has made the village’s name famous around the world.

San Benedetto Belbo is a magical, timeless village transported out of the transience of life (the lost castle, the decaying houses, the monastery that is no more) to the eternity of the great literature by the retiring, solitary genius of Beppe Fenoglio, Italy’s greatest author of the post-war era. It is not by chance that the few photos that show Fenoglio smiling are nearly all taken in San Benedetto, dressed in his Sunday best strolling through the square like an actor on a stage. Indeed, San Benedetto is now little more than this, a fly tower in which the author manipulates the characters down below in those streets and in those homes.

Back on your bike, from the centre of the village follow the highway to Cascina Monastero, where you will take the trail to the left in the direction of Lago delle Verne. Just over the bridge, turn left again onto a dirt road that will take you to Cascina Maineri along a section of trail that leads to Murazzano.

Murazzano, with its stone tower, is undoubtedly one of the most enchanting villages of the Alta Langa. Murazzano is also the name of an excellent local goat cheese, a typical product of the Langhe with its unmistakable squat, round shape.

The village still has two of its four city gates and the Church of San Lorenzo, from its extraordinary vantage point, is worth a lengthy visit. Outside the walls of the village, there is the remarkable Sanctuary of the Madonna di Hal. Then just above the cemetery there is the curious former windmill, which was once (in the 10th century) a watchtower. Murazzano is also featured in three extraordinary stories by Beppe Fenoglio (“La Sposa Bambina”, “L’Addio” and “L’Esattore”).