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A
literary tour of the Langhe
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We
go to the Langhe for a feast of food, wine and literature
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 The
Langhe
in Northern Italy is a region within a region. Nestling
in the heart of Piedmont, the Langhe is a hilly,
mist-cloaked area. The hospitality of the people
is as famous as its rain. But most famous of all
are the region's biggest export - the truffles and
wines enjoyed all over the world.
All these gourmet delights make it exceedingly easy
to find a bed for the night and a hearty
meal to tuck into in the Langhe. So do forgive
us if we leave these aspects up to you and concentrate
on an extraordinary literary tour in the footsteps
of one of Italy's best-loved 20th authors.
Born in Alba
in 1922, Beppe
Fenoglio was one of the few writers to describe
WW2 as a partisan without resorting to unnecessary
rhetoric. Fenoglio himself fought with the Partisans
for two years throughout his beloved Langhe.
His most famous book is Johnny
the Partisan. The novel has recently been
made into a film
and was shot on location in and around Alba. Fenoglio
first came to the attention of the public with his
novel "The ruin" (La malora). Similar themes
crop up in all of his works: the fight for freedom,
the hard life of the local farmers, the Langhe and
its people, its hills and valleys, silence and waiting.
Fenoglio was a shy man who liked to keep out of
the public eye. In 1962 in a letter to his friend
Italo Calvino he wrote "I haven't had a photograph
taken for seven years". In another letter to Calvino
a year later he asked if he had anything "left over"
for "I ventitre giorni della città di Alba"
(another of Fenoglio's acclaimed works) as he hadn't
got enough money for a new type writer.
A good starting point for those wishing to trace
Fenoglio's
steps is this site with its gallery of photos
dedicated to the Langhe and the places immortalised
by the writer in his works. The site also includes
maps of Alba, Barbaresco, Borgomale, Bossolasco,
Castagnole delle Lanze, Coazzolo, Mango, Neive,
Niella Belbo, Santo Stefano Belbo and Valdivilla.
(The site is in Italian but the photo tour is interesting
and easy to follow.)
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| by
DARIO
MORGANTE |
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October
2001
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THE SURVIVOR'S 
