On the banks of the lake where Napoleon ate.. A weekend in Osiglia; trip to Liguria, Italy

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Moving fast on the highway that leads from the Po valley to the Ligurian Sea through a long series of galleries, do not always think, but above the tunnels lie the beautiful mountain ranges of the Apennines and the Ligurian Alps, dotted with beautiful villages in the green colored Dark woods. Places where time passes quickly and without stress, ideal for hiking in nature, places that inspire peace and where you put on the table still knew how to do the dishes grandmothers.
Osiglia, a small town inland from Savona, about fifteen kilometers from the exit of Millwall, is one of those magical places. We had spotted on the map noting a lake surrounded by mountains, Lake Osiglia, in fact. The town is located about 650 meters high, and consists of several hamlets, each with its own charm and traditions. If today is popular with tourists who love nature, but in the past was an important trading center of the Val Bormida. Cited for the first time in the twelfth century as Oselega, the name of the country could mean "source", from pre-Roman word "Ausa", or "bird", from the Latin "aucellus".
After a first ride in the center, where we admired the Parish Church of Holy Name of Mary, rebuilt in Baroque style in the seventeenth century, but with the original fourteenth-century bell tower, and the Oratory of St. Francis, the XV century, today the City Theatre, we head to the discovery of Lake Osiglia. This we can achieve about one km after the hamlet of Red, which will stay at the Albergo Ristorante Alpino. It is an artificial lake along three kilometers wide and about two hundred meters, built between 1937 and 1939 following the construction of the dam the river Osiglietta. During its construction a part of the country was submerged, an operation that created a "ghost town" under water, which reappears every time for maintenance the basin is drained, offering a unique spectacle. Today the lake is fishing tourism reserve and its water table play of competitive sailing and canoeing.
Long before us Osiglia we passed a "tourist" excellent, Napoleon himself. It is said that he went to eat at a tavern in the center, where you can taste typical of Osiglia Fazzini, said fazzègni, made with a mixture similar to that of potato dumplings, cooked on the stove and seasoned with a sauce of leeks or onions. According to legend, the emperor liked it so much that if it strafogò this specialty, to the point of suffering from stomach pain for a lifetime. That's because from then on was always depicted with his hand tucked in his coat, in the act to compress the painful part.
We also visit the Chapel of San Giacomo Ronchi, owned by the Templars and the Knights of Malta 1267 onwards, the Church of the thirteenth century and the Chapel of Our Lady of the Snows, in the hamlet of Mt.
After this wonderful trip, back to the Alpine Hotel Restaurant, where we surrender to the pleasures of good food. "This structure is present at Osiglia since 1971, we have recently taken under management," she says Margaret, who leads the club with Simone and Marco. "We are very careful to use local raw materials as possible to support the traditions of the area. We do everything in the house, only offering local dishes: for this we are also associated with Slow Food. A Osiglia we are one of the Riviera and the Langhe, and our cuisine reflects both areas, "he explained holders. And in fact, already reading the menu we are introduced tasty osigliese universe: the colorful pages curious anecdotes about the local specialties. We begin with a plate of mixed appetizers called "The Alps in the pot," and the Grandmother continue with noodles, ravioli and gnocchi Alpine Margaret. Season the handmade pasta with meat sauce and mushrooms, in addition to the classic pesto sauce and butter and sage. Let's water them with good wines of the Langhe, but also on the Riviera, between Vermentino, Rossese, Dolcetto, Barbera and Nebbiolo. Some of us enjoy with pleasure craft beers produced in the Val Bormida, including a beer flavored with chestnuts. We follow the first by cutlet with mushrooms, sausage osigliese, a popular delicacy, that prepares or poached in wine or grilled. We can not give to taste the legendary Fazzini addition, those of Napoleon ... To end on a sweet, taste the Bavarian chestnuts, prepared with dried chestnuts out of season in so-called cortex, small built in local stone.
Even these chestnuts, delicious, Slow Food is, and the next time you come back here, maybe in the fall, we will also visit the two monumental chestnut trees of the place.

Frances Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:
www.comune.Osiglia.sv.it
www.alpine-Osiglia.it
Alpine Restaurant Bar Hotel
Via Rossi, 8 Osiglia (SV)
Tel: 019/542090