Vendone: a Mediterranean mix of views, flavours and art

Open air museum

Set in the entroterra of the province of Savona, Vendone (probably by “windo”, Celtic-Ligurian for sparkling) is a village endowed by the charme of views, flavours and art. 

It is divided into nine borghi, each with its own identity: welcoming Celsa, Castellaro and Vallone – almost “plunging” into the Arroscia valley, Crosa, the capital of good wine and ancient saffron, Cantone and its nativity scene atmospheres, Capoluogo, with its ancient oratory and towering church, Leuso and its narrow alleys, Villa and its olive groves, Curenna (once a municipality) and Borgo, at the feet of Castellermo, the sacred mountain.

“The stars in the sky and the stones in the ground”: this sentence welcomes visitors at the entrance of the open-air Sculpture Museum dedicated to German artist Rainer Kriester and located a few steps away from the “Tower”, the remains of the ancient Arduinic fortifications. A short walk leads to Crosa and then down to Castellaro, In Cantone, the historic Frantoio Bronda is a must-visit.

Leuso is the administrative centre, its historical district well worth a tour. In the piazza close to the church, during Christmas night 1943, Felice Cascione and his “ribelli”, one of the first partisan groups, sang for the first time “Fischia il Vento” (i.e., the wind whistles), which was to become the hymn of the Italian Resistance movement.

The summit of Castellermo features interesting tracks rich in chestnuts, hazelnuts and mushrooms, which play the lead role in mouth-watering lazarene al sugo di nocciole, which boast De.Co status. De.Co.  (Denominazioni Comunali) are Vendone’s proud. Dried persimmons, sciumette (a dessert made with egg white), mountain EVO, saffron from Crosa, marjoram pesto…

 

 

 

My English abstract of the article as published on LiguriaFood

Luisa Puppo

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