Discovering the medieval villages that still preserve the ancient relationship between people and the land, delighting visitors with the finest dishes of Italian culinary tradition.
The beauty of the villages founded in the medieval era is the most compelling proof that the dark ages were not quite so dark. During the Early Middle Ages — the period spanning from the fifth century to the year 1000 — the feudal system developed, fostering an agrarian economy and the birth of settlements around abbeys and castles. Medieval settlements took shape through a network of narrow, winding streets branching out around a castle or monastery, usually positioned on a hilltop. These urban nuclei still relate to nature today in the interplay between the built fabric and the local orography. We can rediscover the bond between town and nature in what remains of medieval urban planning and in the typical dishes produced only in these places. All aboard the (eco-friendly) car — off we go.
Between the Tagliamento valley and the Val Canale, Venzone, in the province of Udine, is a medieval village nestled within the Parco nazionale regionale delle Prealpi Giulie. The historic centre, faithfully rebuilt after the 1976 earthquake that razed it to the ground, is enclosed by a double ring of walls surrounded by a moat, originally filled with the waters of the Venzonassa stream. A truly distinctive feature is the outermost ring of walls, equipped with numerous defensive towers, and the single-axis street layout onto which homes with distinctly medieval features face, along with a series of narrow alleyways branching out across the entire village. Owing to its proximity to Austria, Venzone long served as a customs post — it was here that duties were paid on goods bound for Germany. Since 1965, Venzone has been considered a national monument, as it is the only medieval village in the region. In Venzone, the typical dish is based on pumpkin, used in every conceivable way: it dresses all types of pasta, makes an excellent side dish, and is an ingredient in sauces. The star of a festival held at the end of October, the pumpkin is a worthy rival to lavender in terms of production.
Taggia, in the province of Imperia, grew up along the coast as a Roman military settlement, Tabia. In the seventh century, during the barbarian invasions, the town moved inland, where the hilly terrain played a defensive role. When some Benedictine monks from Cuneo decided to build their monastery, the village's economy began to flourish again, thanks to a range of agricultural activities that soon made it possible to export produce as far as England. The town began to expand beyond its first set of walls, and much of the land towards the valley floor was reclaimed, where a variety of olive was planted that would go down in history: the taggiasca olive. This cultivar, introduced by the monks of San Colombo, took root perfectly along the ridges of the Ligurian Riviera and over the centuries spread throughout Italy, becoming one of the finest table olives and one of the best for the production of extra-virgin olive oil. When Taggia was rebuilt in the twelfth century after Saracen raids, the settlement continued to expand towards the valley and to be fortified within a new set of walls protected by a castle equipped with towers. The city's position of power is reflected in the urban development around the castle, with a very dense built fabric full of alleyways and stairways — typical of Ligurian urban tradition — and in the presence of three rings of defensive walls.
Since the Middle Ages, Cortemilia, in the province of Cuneo, has been an important political and commercial hub. The town's strategic location, between the Bormida and Uzzone valleys and close to Liguria, has allowed craft and agricultural activities to flourish. In the heart of the Langhe, Cortemilia is the capital of the Piedmontese hazelnut. The prized tonda delle Langhe variety, exported throughout Europe, holds the Protected Geographical Indication (P.G.I.) mark and has always been used in regional confectionery production. Cortemilia, known to the Romans as Cohors Aemilia, preserves a historic centre with a faithfully preserved medieval urban layout. The Bormida river divides it into two nuclei — that of San Pantaleo on the right bank and that of San Michele on the left — around which a dense network of dwellings still retains their fourteenth-century porticoes. The medieval settlement is dominated by the cylindrical tower and the ruins of the Aleramica family's castle, perched on a rocky height and perfectly sheltered by the bend of the Bormida river.
This town in the province of Cuneo takes its name from the Roman family of the Gens Naevia, who owned land here. Neive preserves its medieval layout of ring-shaped streets, concentric with the high ground where first the castle and then the Benedictine monastery stood. With the Lombard invasions in the sixth century, the fortified castle of Neive was erected, along with the town walls, which were opened by just two gateways. Later, in the tenth century, the Benedictine monastery was built, of which only the bell tower remains today — now the symbol of the municipality. Neive, nestled in the Langhe landscape, is known for truffles but stands out for its wine production. The hills around Neive produce Barbera and Dolcetto d'Alba, both D.O.C., and Barbaresco and Moscato d'Asti with a controlled and guaranteed designation of origin (D.O.C.G.).
In the province of Padua, the ancient village of Arquà Petrarca — named in honour of the poet Francesco Petrarca, who spent the last years of his life there (1369–1374) — owes its current form to the urban interventions of the medieval period. Arquà is divided into two nuclei at different levels, the Borgo di Sopra and the Borgo di Sotto, built probably along the defensive line between the Rocca di Monselice and Vicenza. No trace remains of the fortifications that once surrounded the high ground with its castle (today Monte Castello), but many of the fourteenth-century dwellings that rise along the slopes of the Piccolo and Ventolone hills still retain features of late medieval architecture. Recognised among the most beautiful villages in Italy, Arquà Petrarca has been awarded the orange flag of the Touring Club Italiano for its natural value and historical heritage. For centuries, in this Venetian town, the jujube tree has been cultivated; from its fruits — the jujubes — a liqueur known as brodo di giuggiole is obtained in the early months of autumn. Offered to important guests on arrival and appreciated for its sweetness, it is to this liqueur that the expression "andare in brodo di giuggiole" — used to express great enthusiasm — owes its origin.
In the province of Piacenza, Bobbio is a small town of Roman origin, Bobium. In the medieval period, the life of the village was bound up with the activities of the Abbey of San Colombano, a religious and cultural centre of great importance throughout the Middle Ages thanks to its prestigious library. The prominence acquired by the abbey allowed Bobbio to obtain the title of city as early as 1014. The historic centre still faithfully reflects the medieval urban layout of monastic origin. The first monastery was replaced by a fully fledged feudal estate orbiting the abbey, allowing the monks to sustain themselves. During this period, intensive agriculture was introduced through the activities of the monastic estates, primarily in the cultivation of vineyards, olive groves and chestnut woods. It is no coincidence that the area is characterised by mills that used the force of water to drive their millstones. Bobbio's importance throughout northern Italy and its proximity to the Via Francigena made the Val Trebbia town a compulsory stopping point for pilgrims, who were given hospitality by the monks. In the medieval monasteries, as in modern-day taverns, pilgrims passing through Bobbio can eat pisarei e faso — a type of small dumpling made from flour and breadcrumbs, dressed with a sauce based on onion and beans.
The Val d'Elsa area is home to the town of San Gimignano. San Gimignano's development took place in the first centuries after the year 1000, when pilgrims heading to Rome along the Via Francigena replaced the waves of barbarian invaders. The fortified city of San Gimignano quickly became a waypoint for travellers and an important commercial hub. In the communal age, despite the political conflicts between the pro-papal Guelphs and the pro-imperial Ghibellines, the village prospered through agricultural activity linked to the production of wine and saffron. Economic growth was followed by urban growth, with the construction of a second ring of walls to protect a territory that soon contracted as a result of the plague. The thirteen towers that still rise from the outline of the hills bear witness to the city's wealth. The tower was, in fact, the ultimate symbol of power for noble families, who built these imposing structures to demonstrate their economic might and control over the territory. Saffron, from the Arabic Jafaran (yellow), has always played a fundamental role in San Gimignano's economy, so much so that it was even used as a form of debt repayment. Today saffron is the main ingredient in the typical dishes of San Gimignano and is recognised as a D.O.P. product, with production permitted only within the territory of San Gimignano.
The village of San Gemini, in the province of Terni, was founded by a Syrian monk named Yemin or Gemine, who built his monastery here. This area along the ancient Via Flaminia was dotted with small settlements that were strategically important for communications between Rome and northern Italy; nevertheless, the Roman origins of San Gemini remain very uncertain. The raids and wars that engulfed the village before it passed under the Papal States (fifteenth century) nonetheless allowed San Gemini to preserve intact its medieval urban structure typical of castle towns. The main access road into the village, the dense network of narrow streets and part of the imposing fortifications are still visible today. The relationship with the surrounding territory is underlined both by the urban fabric and by the connection with the nearby Parco delle fonti, a stretch of 70,000 square