The 'Artistic bike rides' take you down roads drenched in art, culture and music. This route is dedicated to Luigi Tenco, the great Piedmontese singer-songwriter, actor and poet. Together with Fabrizio De André, Bruno Lauzi, Gino Paoli and Umberto Bindi, he was one of the exponents of the so-called Genoese school, a group of artists who profoundly changed Italian popular music in the 1960s. Tenco is considered by many critics to be one of the greatest Italian singer-songwriters of all time. His death at the age of just 28 at a hotel in Sanremo during the Italian Song Festival in 1967 was shrouded in mystery for a long time. In 2006, the initial hypothesis of suicide was confirmed.
Luigi Tenco was born in Cassine, near Alessandria, on 21 March 1938 and moved with his family to Ricaldone soon after. He grew up here, playing and cycling in the hills like all children his age.
The air he breathed in this countryside held special memories for the singer. Every village in the area celebrated when Luigi's songs came on the radio. To let you relive the emotions of that era, we've devised a slow cycling route through the hills that formed Luigi's character and along the roads that he played and dreamed on as a child. This is where he felt strong emotions, where he 'learnt to love the sun,' as he would go on to sing.
Start from the town of Cassine, in the large car park on Via Garibaldi. Go along the street to number 20, where you'll see a plaque telling you this is the house Tenco was born in.
Carry on to Castelnuovo Bormida, go along Via Barocchio and then along a few pleasant tracks that will give you a taste of times gone by. Arrive in Sezzadio and pay a brief visit to Villa Badia and the church of Maria Immacolata. Carry on to Mombaruzzo, passing the Sorti woods, also known as La Communa. Carry on to Castelletto Molina, then go up to Alice Bel Colle, where the Big Bench offers a breathtaking view of the area's vineyards. You can't miss the chance to stop at the Luigi Tenco house and museum in Ricaldone, full of unforgettable memories. Visits to the museum must be booked in advance.
The Isola in Collina festival is held in Ricaldone every year in the third week of July, in homage to Luigi Tenco.
Every year, big names in Italian music take part.
If you wish to, you can visit the cemetery in Ricaldone, where the singer is buried beneath a simple headstone with a photo, just as he wanted.
Sing a few soft bars of Tenco and imagine the strong emotions he felt before you end the route in Cassine.