A Week in Mondovì – Piemonte

Stefano's Wine Bottles, Villanova Mondovì

Here we are again back in Piemonte. The name of this region derives from medieval Latin “ad pedem montium” meaning “at the foot of the mountains”. So at the foot of the mountains we are making the rounds to visit family. They surely must be sick of us? The answer seems to be no and in fact, they ask: why do we spend so little time here?

We decided this time to base ourselves just outside of Mondovì at the wonderful Cascina Bringin B&B. In previous trips we stayed in Serra Pamparato at Residenza Pietrabruno and in Dogliani at Poderie Einaudi. Cascina Bringin turns out to work great for this trip. The proprietors, Caterina and Beppe, are wonderful. The breakfasts that are carried to our room every morning and lovingly assembled in front of our eyes by Caterina are incredible. We engaged her for 30 minutes or so every morning to explain the types of food she prepared and its history. This is a highlight of every day.

We ate, naturally, mostly at the relatives’ houses, but went out a few times. In particular, we had a big mid-day meal at Circolo located in Sant'Anna di Roracco a frazione of Mondovì (location). Circolo is a Catholic charity that provides employment for those in need. It was a very good meal. We ate a wonderful Sunday dinner with another branch of the family at Il Palazzetto (location). An old converted farm and prior to a farm, a convent, and now a restaurant with a few rooms for lodging.

Most of the time we were engaged with meeting up with the four branches of family in the region, but we did have some time to check out a few new things including:

- Explore Mondovì. We started in the lower town, Breo, and worked our way to the upper town, Piazza, via the funicular.

- Visit Grotta di Bossea – an interesting cave south of Mondovì.

- Visit Il Castello Racconigi - one of the many Savory castles.

- Spend an afternoon in Cherasco, a small town where there are the fabulous chocolate shops of Barbera Cioccolato and Ravera. We had a fantastic lunch at Osteria La Torre.

- Visit the town of Carrù and get a closeup look at a building that was under restoration in the town center.

- Stop at Casa Baladin, a birreria in Piozzo, Cuneo (CN) for refreshments. The birreria is set up like a Moroccan Riad. There is a steam room and rooms to spend the night. Very high concept. We tasted a few of the signature beers and something called Baladin Spuma Nera, we believe a non-alcoholic drink that was very nice.

View from Mondovì Piazza Toward Cascina Bringin


View from Il Palazzetto Twoard Sacrario San Bernardo, Clavesana



Sacrario San Bernardo, Clavesana


Driving Near Sant'Anna Roracco, Mondovì


Caterina's Tortellini in Bordo, Ceva


Rubata - A Type of Piemontese Grissini, Breakfast at Cascina Bringin, Mondovì


Prosciutto, Breakfast at Cascina Bringin, Modovì


Poached Pears, Breakfast at Cascina Bringin, Modovì


Lardo, Breakfast at Cascina Bringin, Modovì


Apple Fritters, Breakfast at Cascina Bringin, Modovì


After Dinner Bugie with Different Fillings, Mostly Jam, Ceva


Baladin Beer Sampling, Piozzo


The Bulls (I Buoi), Carrù