Millesimo, 1,000 emotions and truffle scents

 

Millesimo, the fortified Gaietta bridge

Located in the entroterra of the Province of Savona, Millesimo (not surprisingly) belongs to the Borghi più Belli d’Italia (Most Beautiful Villages in Italy) circuit. The origin of this little gem of history and gastronomy dates back to Roman times when it acted as a stronghold along the Via Aemilia Scauri consular route.

The centre, dominated by the del Carretto Castle (complete with Napoleonic Museum) on one side and the Palazzo Comunale on the other (do not miss its splendid sundial), can also be suggestively accessed from the fortified Gaietta bridge. There, stroll unhurriedly under the medieval porticoes, still dotted with ancient shops and delis. Cycling fans can pedal their way to Cossèria (with the late Luciano Berruti's Bicycle Museum) and on to Carcare along the cycling path. Just outside the centre, the austere Santa Maria extra muros, a Romanesque parish church restored in the 1960s; a few kilometres toward Murialdo, rapid hairpin bends lead to the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Deserto, a devotional venue as well as the starting point of many hike&bike itineraries. 

In Liguria, Millesimo evokes truffles: a lively autumn festival, recognised in 2018 at the national level and this year at its 30th edition, divulges them with a market, hunting moments (truffle hunting and extraction entered Unesco heritage list in 2021), exhibitions and conferences, edutainment and thematic menus (bon appetit!). In the Bormida Valley, truffles go traditional on fried eggs, but - as is well known - they are always fabulous with carpaccio, tajarin, risotto, fondue (and on the other hand, the local cuisine wedges towards the Piedmontese Langhe). As for wine pairings, truffles usually match aromatic wines, the classic being Gewürztraminer, to be served at 10-11°C in tall-stemmed glasses.

What else? Well, Millesimo is also bakery wisdom. Butcher shops display sausages, raw salami, cotechini, and tripe. Zuncò (dairy product obtained from curdled milk) comes from cow's milk. From bee-keeping came and still comes honey for fragrant hazelnut cakes (but the woods also offered high-protein snails). In the fields of the Santo Stefano monastery grow the indigenous hops and distichous barley necessary for the 'Confine' beer available in Coop supermarkets. Saffron is cultivated in Montecala, near Cossèria.

Finally, an elegant packet of rum-flavoured Millesini will be more than just a gourmet souvenir.

My English abstract of Umberto Curti's article as published in Liguria Food

 

Luisa Puppo 

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