This is a short route over tracks and minor roads in the plain between Turin and Monferrato Astigiano. It goes through Isolabella and along some historic roads like Strada del Bosco d'Orto, which passes through La Stuerda.
It's a simple route but should be avoided in case of rain, as 60% of it is on tracks made of dirt.
Valfenera is also known as the 'town of seven towers' and is extremely old. Records show that it has existed under its present name since 896. Its current plan dates from the 13th century, when the feudal landowners, the Gorzano family, worried about the new town of Villanova nearby, built a new castle with seven fortified towers. This was later razed by French troops in 1557, during the fighting between France and Spain in Piedmont.
Piedmontese cattle are raised all around Valfenera and their meat is the base of a classic local dish, bollito misto, which you can try during the festival of Sant’Orsola in the last week of October.
Start in Valfenera, in the car park in Piazza Giardinetto off Via Capitano Luigi Zabert, where you can fill your water bottles. Set off on the SP 16 towards Cellarengo. At the first junction, turn right onto Strada Borgarella then Strada Menabò, where you leave the tarmac for the first track on your left, Strada Antica Valfenera. This will bring you to the farm Cascina Savoiarda and then the hamlet of Scarrone. This area is full of ponds and brooks used for local farming. When you reach the tarmac, turn left towards Pralormo and then right onto Strada Bosco d’Oro. Now leave the tarmac onto a track that goes on for about 5 km. After the hamlet of Stuerda, turn onto the SP 32 and take it to Poirino, a town within the metropolitan city of Turin. An interesting local tradition here is the Festa del Cimitero (Cemetery festival) held on the third Sunday of every September in memory of a plague that struck the Turin area in 1630.
From Poirino, come out onto the SP 31, named Strada Vecchia delle Poste. It starts as tarmac and becomes a track. Once you're on Via Isolabella, head to Torre Valgorrera, a large 12th-century fortress whose octagonal tower lends it the feel of an elegant country house. It's now used for lavish wedding receptions.
Leave the old castle and head towards its sister venue, Palazzo Valgorrera, about 1 km away. Built in 1152, this is the oldest building in the Poirino area.
The route now takes you along pretty tracks, then some tarmac, to Villanova d’Asti, the town famous for its Elogio della Bionda festival. The bionda piemontese is a local breed of chicken. In the town you can visit the 13th-century church of San Pietro, the church of San Martino and the pretty park and shrine of the Madonna. Leave the town for the return stretch along Strada Mezzaluna, near the sports pitch, then carry on for 5 km along the track Strada Vecchia, which will bring you back to your starting point in Valfenera.