by Paolo Ciaberta
When they proposed me to tell the story of the Pinerolo area, I could only be happy. It is an area of Piedmont that I know well because, being close to Turin where I live, it has always proved a perfect escape from the city for healthy one- or multi-day bike rides.
The area, in the heart of the Cottian Alps, is surprising in its historical relevance and naturalistic impact and, in my opinion, an area that has never been recognized enough for all that it can give to visitors. Highlighting its importance there are as many as three natural parks all of which have great impact, Val Troncea Park, Orsiera Rocciavrè Park, and part of the Gran Bosco di Salbertrand.
UpSlowTour and the loops to bike through
To promote slow and conscious, environmentally conscious tourism, the Pinerolo Mountain Union has developed the UpSlowTour project. It consists of 15 loops representing the varied proposals of routes for every type of bike, from ebike to gravel, through certified accessible routes for handbikes, by the B-free association. On the portal, you can also find other routes in the area and all the companies that rent bikes, accommodations, and what you need to organize carefree bike tours.
One of the UpSlowTour rings is dedicated to the territory of the Waldensians, who found refuge here from Catholic persecution. This ring, known as the Angrogna Valley Ring, spans 35 kilometers and retraces many places of Waldensian tradition. For example, in the hamlet of Ciabàs stands one of the oldest temples in the valley dating back to 1555. A hundred meters from the hamlet of Oddino is a cave where local Waldensians are thought to have conducted their religious gatherings to avoid Catholic persecution. The cavity, located in a wooded area, is accessible from the outside through a narrow cleft between rocky masses outcropping in the thick vegetation.
Pinerolo
Pinerolo is a place where history and nature meet at the outlet of beautiful Alpine valleys such as Val Pellice and Val Chisone. It is located about 40 km from the center of Turin and is easily accessible. Also on the bike! In fact, one can start from Porta Susa and arrive in Pinerolo along a mostly flat route.
Pinerolo is connected to the capital city of Turin by the A55 highway, the SP23 provincial road of the Sestriere pass and the SP 589 Laghi di Avigliana road, the latter of which also allows for an interesting scenic route of the area. For those who prefer not to enter the center by car, it is possible to leave it in the parking lot of the Olympic station and take the shuttle bus. It is also served by the Turin-Pinerolo railway line, with two active stops, Pinerolo and Pinerolo Olimpica. Or you can choose the buses of the Italian railway network, which leave from Lingotto station in Turin or the ‘Arriva’ line from the main stations in the capital city.
The size of Pinerolo’s historic center allows it to be visited on foot or by bicycle. Take time to linger on the most interesting spots such as what was once the arsenal of the walled city, i.e. the present-day Town Hall, the Cathedral Square with its imposing facade and beautiful interior frescoes. Then there are numerous medieval buildings and the 15th-century Senate House, still a private house that is also often opened to the public. Those who want to delve into cultural and historical aspects can take advantage of the many museums such as the Historical Museum of the Cavalry and the various Civic Museums.
The large Vittorio Veneto Square hosts a major market every Wednesday and Saturday where, wandering among the stalls, one can find all the local and area products-vegetables, fruits, gastronomy.
Pinerolo’s food and wine products.
There are many gastronomic specialties offered by the area, all prepared using typical Alpine products. Simple dishes of the tradition, tasty and genuine, fruit of what nature offers in the valleys. Nearby France also fostered contaminations with transalpine cuisine, resulting in refined dishes that have always characterized Piedmontese cuisine. Whether one chooses an agritourism or a restaurant, a refuge or a trattoria, the quality of the food is always put first precisely because it is known that nowadays the discovery of an area also passes through the palate. But let’s look at the products.
Mountain pasture cheeses
The Pellice Valley has as many as 10 mountain pastures authorized to make cheese. For a tasty and rewarding outing, riding a MTB is possible to reach some of them.
Some of the main products of the area include the cheese from the Lands of Dahu, made from raw milk in forms with a characteristic sloping shape, on which a Dahu, an animal believed to be legendary but which exists-a kind of ibex-stands in perfect balance. This shape provides the cheese not only with a unique aesthetic appearance, but also causes the ripening to act differentially and allow different nuances of taste to be enjoyed depending on the size of the portion being tasted.
Tomino del Talucco on the other hand, is a cheese made from cow’s and goat’s milk or pure goat’s milk. Its flavor is very distinctive, harmonious and delicate is related to the seasonal varieties of flora and becomes more intense and fragrant with aging.
Seirass del Fen, under Slow Food presidium, is an aged mountain pasture ricotta produced between 600 and 2200 meters. The tradition of wrapping the ricotta in hay stemmed from the need to protect the rounded forms of Seirass in their transport from the mountain pastures to the valley; to this day, it has remained a distinguishing feature of the product that gives it a very slight grassy aroma.
Slow Food presidia, typical dishes and desserts
Valdese Valleys Mustardela is a poor sausage (a black pudding) in the shape of a sausage with an almost purplish color, its flavor is spicy and its texture pasty and soft. It is eaten boiled, accompanied by potatoes or polenta.
La Calhëttais an ancient dish of Germanasca and Chisone Valley cuisine and like all popular products it varies in its recipe from family to family. It has always been prepared with poor ingredients: potatoes, onions and lard, as well as butter and sage. Calhëtte can be seasoned with game sauce, mushrooms or herbs. The name comes from the shape given to the dumplings, which is reminiscent of the spindle that was used to spin wool.
The typical dessert of Pinerolo is the Zurich cake, whose base is a wafer of cocoa shortbread, the filling is a riot of Chantilly cream with nougat and chocolate inside. This is topped with bitter chocolate chips and finished with cherries preserved under alcohol and covered with icing. The final decoration is an inviting white chocolate disc imprinted with the exclusive logo certifying the originality of the product.
Thelow panettone by pastry chef Pietro Ferrua and his wife Regina is more than 100 years old. In fact, the couple in 1922 baked this Piedmontese dessert for the first time, covering it with a delicate hazelnut glaze. This was happening in the workshop on Cathedral Street. Soon after, the historic Galup brand was born, which spread this dessert first throughout Piedmont, and then throughout Italy. Even today, in Pinerolo at Christmas time, the scent of panettone can be smelled filling the air of the city.
Wines
There is no shortage of territorial wines. As early as the 1200s, Nebbiolo and the prized Doux d’Henry, named in honor of King Henry IV of France, who greatly appreciated it during one of his visits to the area, were produced.
Barbera, Bonarda, Freisa, and Ramìe wines are also found under the Pinerolo red designation. The latter can only be produced with grapes from vineyards located in the municipalities of Pomaretto and Perosa Argentina.
Bike routes and sights to see
As anticipated, there is an extensive network of bicycle routes in the Pinerolese area to meet a wide variety of cyclists’ needs. There is a choice of plains, hills and mountains with hundreds of miles of trails.
The plains are suitable for everyone, the hills for those who want to deal with climbs that are not too challenging. In the mountains, however, there are routes for the more experienced. For each of these possibilities, it is possible to rely on bicycle tour guides recognized by the Piedmont Region who will know how to make the day enjoyable and carefree, as well as also provide valuable information about the territory you are passing through. Customized tours of the entire Pinerolo area can be requested by emailing [email protected]
A 3-km trip takes you to Miradolo Castle where you can enjoy a wonderful view of Monviso. The Cosso Foundation, which manages the castle, organizes exhibitions, concerts, thematic guided tours, workshops, insights and activities for every age group, all year round, in the four seasons.
Piscina Arte Aperta is a diffuse museum of contemporary art that winds through the squares and streets of the village of Piscina, 9 km from Pinerolo. The project was the brainchild of local painter Antonio Panino, who aimed to comprehensively represent the souls of the Piedmont art scene at the turn of the millennium.
Pedaling 10 km you will reach the Zoom biopark, a zoo designed following the philosophy that has governed the construction of new wildlife parks for several years now. Zoom offers an immersive experience in direct contact with animals, who do not live in cages but in settings inspired by their natural habitats.
Pinerolo and the Giro d’Italia
The city of Pinerolo is inextricably linked to the history of cycling sports. It has repeatedly been the starting and finishing site of Giro d’Italia stages. It even dates back to the first edition in 1909, when riders crossed it during the Genoa-Turin stage.
Pinerolo entered cycling history with an epoch-making stage of the Giro. A stage about which novels and countless articles have been written with one protagonist, Fausto Coppi. It was the Cuneo-Pinerolo in 1949 when the champion covered 192 km in a lone breakaway, crossing 5 hills with breathtaking descents and impassable dirt roads. An epic feat that left the cycling world astonished and gave Italy new enthusiasm after the rubble of World War II.
The Tour de France 2024
But great cycling in these parts belongs not only to the epic of the sport. In fact, on July 2, 2024, the fourth stage of the world’s most important race, the Tour de France, starts here. For the first time in its long and prestigious history, the Grand Boucle in fact starts from Italy, from Florence. Instead, Pinerolo represents the last effort before the race enters France in the Pinerolo-Valloire stage. After a long climb to Sestriere, the peloton trespasses into France via Montgenevre, climbs the Lautaret Pass and finally tackles the 2,642-meter Galibier. The fraction closes in Valloire after 138 km.
Those wishing to attend the event can contact the Pinerolo Tourist Office, Via del Duomo 1, 10064 Pinerolo (TO) +39 0121795589
emails – [email protected]
FB – @touristofficeopinerolo
Alpibike Festival
On June 1 and 2, 2024, the second edition of the Alpibike Festival will be held in Luserna S. Giovanni, the first event in Piedmont dedicated to high-altitude bicycle touring for those who love the outdoors and two wheels in the mountains. An exhibition area, guest presentations and projects to enhance the Piedmont Alpine region, organized Gravel, MTB and ebike tours, and workshops. And to refresh oneself at the end of the day let’s toast with an excellent cold beer.
B Free inclusive cycling
The Pinerolese is, as mentioned, a bike territory for everyone. Here’s how: the B Free association, in collaboration with the City of Pinerolo, promotes bicycle tours designed to ensure walkability and accessibility for all people with mobility disabilities. This will increase the usability of the area to all people who use alternative means of mobility such as handbikes, unicycles, e-wheelers, and wheelchairs.
