The territory

I Love Cravanzana

The value of hospitality

The PGI Piedmont Hazelnut is characterized by a persistent aroma.
In Cravanzana we are welcoming people who love to welcome and make those who come to our area feel at home. It’s not business or tourism, it’s just something we have in our DNA.

Welcome to Cravanzana!

We are in the heart of Alta Langa, at about 585m above the sea level. If you come visit us, or if you have already come, you might have noticed that the landscape is different from that of Langhe and Roero, less vineyards, which leaves space to woods and hazelnuts, and to a different rhythm of seasons and crops.

For many years Cravanzana has been the Pais dra Nisora, the most important production centre of the tonda gentile trilobata. The small village at the top of the hill is completely surrounded by the profiles of the hazelnut trees.

The Vigils

Among the Cravanzana traditions there is one that symbolizes our convivial nature: the vigils. During the winter people used to meet from house to house. At sunset people used to gather at a fellow villager’s house: here they shared the classical Piedmontese friciò, cheese, salami, bread and a good glass of Dolcetto. The evening was a moment of laughs, songs and stories. According to the participants, the themes of the stories changed. There were some fixed elements: war episodes narrated by those who experienced them first hand, stories about the “masche”, the witches of the Piedmontese folk. If there were children in the house the stories about the masche were a must!

The Fair

The Cravanzana fair has been over the last 700 years a moment of feast very appreciated and loved!

Cravanzana is located halfway on the paths that connect the mountains to the sea, between Piedmont and Liguria. It’s a strategic position: who came from the mountains brought cheese and local products, those coming from the sea brought salt and anchovies. Travelers stopped halfway, right here in Cravanzana. As time passed by, it hosted more and more people, and the market where they exchanged their products became a folk festival. In the begging it lasted a few days, then a whole week. Nowadays the whole village continues participating in the fair with great joy.

Until the 70’s it was the second biggest fair of the whole Cuneo province. Not bad for a small village of 400 inhabitants!