"The Tortona viewpoint“: So its inhabitants call I have. The reason? That position perched on the Tortona hills, those 210 meters high overlooking the vineyards and cultivated fields. And it is precisely the context in which it stands that makes Vho a unique place.
What to see in Vho
More than to visit the village, you go to Vho to admire the beauty of its surroundings. Depending on what they grow, the fields take on different colors. And the rows are so ordered that they seem drawn. And if you come there when the sun shines in the sky, the view embraces the Ligurian Apennines and the Piedmontese Alps. It is so sincere, this beauty, that Vho has been inserted between the "Honorary Guests" Villages of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy Association (it will remain there for two years, until the end of 2022). In his heart, then, we read the past. That era when the castle was inhabited, with its moat and drawbridge. A past that survives in the ancient houses, now restored, and in the moat that is now a belvedere.
With its handful of houses, Vho can be visited in no time. You enter to peek inside church of San Salvatore, and in the very ancient church of purity. You walk among those cobbled alleys, touching window sills in bloom, courtyards with wooden ceilings, sturdy doors. And we stop to admire the view. However, there is a period of the year in which the village transforms itself: on Shrove Tuesday, the "carnival vhoese”Recalls the times when the villagers used to meet for a banquet, with each one bringing a dish. The custom has never stopped, not even in times of war. Today, in the square of the church of San Salvatore, sausages are distributed by local butchers and polenta prepared with ottofile corn flour.
Typical products and traditions
After a walk through the streets of the village, the advice is to sit at the table to enjoy a plate of agnolotti. Pasta of ancient origin, filled with slow-cooked beef in a robust red wine, the agnolotti are prepared with flour, eggs and water. They are usually consumed in broth, but tradition has it that they are drowned in Barbera dei Colli Tortonesi. And if you want to take home a souvenir of your trip to Vho, the best choice is the Piedmontese white wine Derthona Timorasso. Served in the cellars of the village with cheeses and cured meats, it is prepared with the grapes of the ancient Timorasso vine.
Vho is the perfect village to visit during a stay in Tortona. In the province of Alessandria, not far from the border with Lombardy, Tortona is a place to be discovered. Here you can go shopping along the Via Emilia, visit Piazza Aristide Arzano with Palazzo Guidobono, seat of the Archaeological Museum, and breathe the romantic air of the Cortile dei Sarcopagi. And then the sepulchral monuments, the Civic Library, the Voltone Park. For a feast of art and culture.
Source of photo in evidence: Chapel of the Madonna della Purità - Wikipedia (credit Lantus - CC BY-SA 3.0)
