GTL - Leg 9

A brief hillcrest section from the village of roses to Serravalle Langhe and which also connects to the Barolo wine region and the Bar to Bar itinerary.

Bossolasco is known as the “village of roses”. This enchanting village features hundreds of climbing rose bushes that decorate the walls of the houses here like a sort of wedding veil.

As you leave town towards Serravalle and Alba, we highly recommend a stop at the famous Fontana Azzurra. Just past this fountain, leave the highway and take the dirt road to the left, which heads down gradually through the fields and then much more steeply into the woods and down into the gorge. Then head back up into the sunny fields towards the lovely San Lorenzo rural chapel. From here, turn right and then immediately left onto the paved road in Pratonoero. Head up to Serravalle Langhe and, at the next fork in the road, take the dirt road to the right. Turn right again after a couple of kilometers onto a paved road and then head up onto the state highway just outside the village.

The town of Serravalle Langhe is positioned to guard the roadway along the main crest of this area along with one of the passes from Cravanzana/ Feisoglio to Cissone/Dogliani. As such, in ancient times it was at an intersection of strategic commercial and military importance. Once the site of a well-armed fortress (of which few foundations, wells, and underground tunnels remain), this compact, well-maintained village sits atop a tall hill (762m / 2,500 ft) overlooking a wide swath of the Langhe region. Having lost its impressive castle, the village now features only its lovely Town Hall and, above all, the 12th century San Michele Oratory with its late-1400s frescos and a remarkable sandstone rose window. You will not want to miss the stunning view of the Alps from Via Belvedere.

We also recommend a visit to the hamlet of Villa (where there was once the second centre of the village after Belbo, which was of Roman origin) and its resistance fighters command post, which is commemorated by a tablet on the first house, as well as the lovely Church of San Michele Arcangelo with its Romanesque apse and Baroque façade. Also worth a visit is the village of Bossolaschetto at the start of this route, where the solitary Church of S. Maria Maddalena remains one of the coziest places, and yet open at the same time, of the entire Belbo Valley.

From Serravalle Langhe, you can continue the itinerary in the direction of Albaretto della Torre or take the alternate trail that runs through Cerretto Langhe, Arguello and Lequio Berria to connect with the main loop in Benevello. If you would like to return to the Langhe wine region, continue on from Serravalle in the direction of Roddino, crossing the territory of Cissone to connect up with the “Bar to Bar” (Barbaresco to Barolo) itinerary, which crosses through the Langhe most famous vineyards.

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