Piedmont Property Blog

Cuneo was the host to stage 16 of the Tour which involved a 157 km ride to Jausiers in France and included a grueling 2802m climb to the top of the Col de la Bonnette.

Although the stage was won by Cyril Dessel, the day will be remembered for John-Lee Augustyn misjudging a bend at Bonette and sliding down the side of a mountain. A road side fan came to his rescue but I have no idea what happened to his bike, pretty scary stuff. Its a brutal sport cycling.

I have to admit to being a little disappointed at Mark Cavendish pulling out earlier in the week, but he did win four stages and I think Britain has a true cycling star in the making.

If you’ve never been to a stage of the Tour before its something well worth doing even if you’re not keen on cycling. Events kick off about two hours before the race with a massive carnival/procession which includes hundreds of cars in bright colors and strange styles, people dressed up in all sorts of costumes, in fact great entertainment for the children. I’ve included a selection of pictures just to give you an idea. The atmosphere in the town was electric.

When the procession finished many of the riders signed autographs for the fans which I thought was a nice gesture with many posing for photographs. Respect to them all. (more…)

We meet many interesting people from all over the world in our line of work and one of the most frequent questions asked is “Which is your favorite part of Piemonte”? This is almost impossible to answer as Piemonte really has so much to offer, be it vineyards, mountains, beautiful towns and villages etc. That said I have to admit to being truly in love with The Langhe region of Piemonte.

The Langhe or Langa as the Italians call it, is found in the wine growing area of Piemonte and is located south of its capital Alba. The area has a strong agricultural background  which is clearly evident as you drive about. You’ll see the local people working the land, be it hazelnuts, vineyards, fruit and vegetables, in fact they thrive on being as self sufficient as possible. You’ll also realize after a while that people here seem to live longer and this I put down to their hard working life style and healthy diet, including wine of course! (more…)

The nature of our work means that Lesley and I spend most our time in the wonderful villages of The Langhe where we are privileged to meet the charming Piemontese people form the local area.

One village we truly adore is Prunetto which is situated in the Alta Langa (Upper Langhe) 720 metres above sea level. Here one can witness the true Piemontese life style at its best. Most of the small shops in the area are family run and you can be sure of a warm welcome no matter what part of the world you are from.

These shops are a great source of information about who does what and where to get what in the area. The villagers of course speak little English but will make every effort to communicate with you. Its worth learning a few words of the local Piemontese dialect… greatly appreciated.

Prunetto castle is definitely worth a visit as is the local church which is home to some stunning frescoes. Last but not least is the local trattoria (restaurant) called “Della Piazza”. The Signora here offers simple great home cooking made with local produce. Try a nice glass of Dolcetto with your meal.

Below is a picture of Prunetto church. This is a HDR image which I made with six different exposures and converted with HDR software. This can of course be done in Photoshop.

Its been a strange time regarding the weather here in Piemonte. Usually from March onwards you can expect the weather to turn for the better, you know, summer is kind of around the corner. But as I said its been a funny old year weather wise, its just rained and rained now for 5 weeks

At the start of this cycle the rain was most welcome, we’ve had little snow and without question the land needs water. But now the tables are turning as the excess rain now poses a threat to the fruit and wine production of the area.

I’ve spoken to several of the locals including experienced farmers who reckon rain like this has not been seen for at least 50 years, some say they have never seen rain like this at all.

A lot of people say to me that it must be difficult to sell houses in this weather but we feel that if you like the area and the property in this freak weather you’re going to love it when the sun comes out. Warts and all approach.

The locals are all cursing of course as they desperately wait for the sun to reappear. But what are the alternatives? Its raining in Liguria, Nice and even Spain. Some say the weather patterns are changing, who knows.

Anyway we are into our second day of sunshine now and the weather rumor factory says there is a new cycle of pressure coming in which will yield plenty of sun and heat.

My views, of course I’d love some sun, but The Langhe region is still stunning in the rain. I love it.

Piemonte is situated in the North West corner of Italy and comprises the provinces of Alessandria, Asti, Cuneo, Novara, Vercelli, and Turin which is the region’s Capital. The area forms part of an industrial triangle created by Milan, Turin and Genoa.

Piemonte (or Piedmont as the English refer to it) has long been regarded as Italy’s little secret where Italians for many years and to this current day use the area as a vacation destination. The 2006 Winter Olympics have been a great advertisement for Piemonte and has served to introduce this beautiful area to the world.

The region is world famous for its wine production and the Langhe hills are home to the great Barolo wines and nearby Asti produces its Spumante. Food lovers around the world visit the region to sample its truffles and visit Bra the capital of the “Slow Food movement”. (more…)