Monforte d’Alba is a small medieval village in the Langa del Barolo, in a charming position, the village has the houses of the ancient part all leaning on the slopes of a steep hill. Steep streets that climb up to its square and the famous open-air amphitheater, with a view that sweeps over the surrounding vineyards: a small but wonderful village that encloses a thousand-year history. Monforte is one of the 11 municipalities that produce Barolo wine and part of the Union of municipalities of the Langhe and Barolo hills.
No wonder of course its landscape, completely characterized by expanses of vineyards that are lost in sight of the eye, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. And it is no wonder at all that there are so many wineries in this area, almost as if one loses track of it!
But in this land, so influenced by the production and sale of one of the most famous wines in Italy, there is also a story that is worth discovering.
The current patrician residence, owned by the Marquis Scarampi of Cairo, was built on the walls of the old castle. In addition to the aristocratic villa, the charming old town includes a 13th century Romanesque bell tower, the 15th century Confraternities of the Humiliated and of St. Augustine, the 20th century parish church in Piedmontese Gothic style, and a fine Romanesque apse from 1100 in the hamlet of S. Stefano.
The Horszowski auditorium, housed in a natural basin, offers important concerts, a natural amphitheatre created from the natural morphological slope of the land, inaugurated in 1986 by the famous pianist Mieczysław Horszowski. The amphitheatre has steps covered with grass. A country rich in history, it has Roman origins, but later became a Longobard possession and then a Carolingian feud.
The military significance of the name "Monte Forte" testifies to its strategic position in the struggles between the lords of the area.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
