Farinata, or fainà in local dialect, is a traditional Ligurian dish made simply from chickpeas, water, salt and extra virgin olive oil. In Alto Monferrato, in southern Piedmont, there is a strong Ligurian influence, including on the food, and farinata is known as belàcauda. From Alessandria to the Apennines, farinata is a much-loved dish.
Our route begins in Montaldo Bormida, which holds a farinata festival in the second week of every June, and explores the area around Ovada, whose cuisine bears a heavy Ligurian stamp. You can take advantage of the big car park on the SP 193 before heading for Parco Dotto then Via Cesare Bianchi. Carry on to the junction with the SP 197, turning right. After about 500 m, at Cantina Sociale Tre Castelli (wine cooperative), go right again onto a street that leads to a percorso verde, or green path, past a tennis court and then a picnic area. Follow the GPX track to Trisobbio, a village famous for its white truffle fair, put on at the end of October in its medieval centre. The delicacy here on the days of the fair is panissa – similar to farinata – with truffles. Carry on along a pleasant stretch around the castle walls, on little streets, before coming out of the village in the direction of Grillano, where you'll see the road for the shrine of Nostra Signora della Guardia. Carry on along Via Grillano, then Strada Priarona for 4 km, and you'll come to the village of Ovada, known as the farinata capital of Alto Monferrato. This is home to historic inns that make farinata, in Piazzetta dei Cappuccini and Via Francesco Gilardi. Stop for a snack then head off along roads with a very Ligurian feel. Pass the river Stura and come out onto the SP 71 in Tagliolo Monferrato, with its famous castle. Carry on to the hamlets of Varo and Pessino, which sit among Dolcetto di Ovada vineyards. Once you reach the SP 172 at the trading estate in Bessiche, turn right and in a few metres you'll see an educational farm that makes tasty farinata using its own ingredients with zero food miles. Carry on back the way you came along the SP 172 until the junction with the SP 155. Turn right here onto a handy cycle path to Silvano d’Orba. You can get some farinata here too, at the bakery near the town hall. Leave the town, famous for Adorno castle, and carry on to a village with another beautiful medieval castle, Rocca Grimalda.
You'll find yet another castle at your next stop, Carpeneto, a little medieval village that was the childhood home of Cristina Parodi, the famous journalist, TV director and writer. Go on from here on a little road through the woods to the village of Madonna della Villa and onto the SP 193. This will bring you in about 3 km to your final stop in Montaldo Bormida.