Suspended on the wings of the ‘APE MELIFLORA‘, and thanks to the descriptions of Katiuscia Gergenti, we will embark on an emotional journey with the almond trees of Monteforte, discovering its hidden enchantment amidst the sweet scents and enchantment of flowers and vibrant landscapes.
Yet I seem to smell the scent of spring ..... In fact, in the warmth of the sun, on this mid-February Sunday, while the festive Carnival echoes in the valley, I decide to take a reconnaissance buzz. On the way, primroses, violets until I find myself in front of an enchantment of white flowers. Almond blossoms welcomed me.
I arrived here going up from Varzi, in the Staffora Valley, in the direction of Castellaro and following a small diversions I found Monteforte, on the Via del Sale (Salt Road), which dominates the valley at an altitude of around 700 metres. It is a medieval hamlet of stone houses, set amidst chestnut woods.
I am greeted by a beautiful black horse, vegetable gardens, a mural and in front of me a fountain of fresh water with a wash-house. We disturb the sleep of an old cat, which wanders off and seems to scan the slow rhythm of these places with its step. On the left, we find the small Church of St. Columbanus, built in 1616. The linear, plastered, softly coloured façade bears the inscription ‘Sancto Columbanum Dicatum‘, while the pointed bell tower is made of stone with the classic bronze bell.
The view is breathtaking, but the flowering almond trees invite us to follow a grassy path, which leads to the small cemetery where lie the remains of the partisans of the ‘Aliotta‘ Division, ‘Capettini‘ Brigade, who fell on 11 December 1944.
Out in the open, just above, stood the Rocca di Monteforte, belonging to the Malaspina family, today only a few turns of stones mark the perimeter of what was once the watchtower. Gaspare, my inseparable quadruped friend, and I also wanted to savour the thrill of domination, so we took a photo of ourselves on the tower. All around us the poetry of the almond trees in blossom and the gorse also preparing to welcome spring, the chestnut woods, the nearby perched villages, including Castellaro and, at the bottom of the valley, Varzi with the Staffora river. We can distinguish the Via del Sale (Salt Road) and we can imagine the mules that travelled it in the past, stopping in Monteforte to drink at the spring, probably also in exchange for some gabella (a local tax).
My attention is now turned to my left, however, as I notice slopes that are completely bald, devoid of vegetation for the most part, and of changing colours, in shades of dark grey at the summit, then reddish, to ochre towards the valley floor. They are the ‘calanchi‘ (gullies), a striking scenery caused by a geomorphological phenomenon of soil erosion that occurs due to the effect of water washing over clayey rocks.
For the most part, they are exposed to the south, where the sun‘s rays are strongest and so the clayey rock dries out quickly and flakes into small fragments. And that is where I want to go, to see them more closely....
So we leave the almond trees behind, say goodbye to our friends the bumblebees, the only two inhabitants we encounter on the path, and head back towards Varzi. Having spotted a fairly safe place to access these formations, we stop. Apparently to the eye the gullies look sandy, but to the touch they are actually made up of tiny flakes. I cannot resist and want to ride what appear to be real Oltrepò dunes, while in front of me I greet Monteforte, its bell tower and the almond trees.
