First and foremost, cattle breeding, a true flagship for the Piedmontese breed, which has continued for a long time a tradition based on the growth of the calf in a natural way sheltered from any risk of sophistication, alongside new introductions such as the ‘Angus’, a precious breed ennobled by the most demanding chefs. Among the dairy breeds, the classic and widespread “frisona” and “pezzata” and the “montanara bruna” provide an excellent fresh product that is the ideal base for all traditional dairy production of bovine origin.
The production of the so-called alternative meats, that is poultry and rabbits, is widespread. Pig breeding is still booming. Moreover fruits and vegetables are central to the richness of agriculture. The propensity of this land and its people to this type of cultivation is so old that, over the centuries, the productions have been concentrated around some cities, which have become real capitals: here you can taste the apples from Saluzzo and Pagno, the Kiwis from Verzuolo, the peaches from Lagnasco, leeks from Cervere, strawberries from Sommariva Perno, Peveragno and Baldissero. But throughout this region, vegetables and fruits have found fertile grounds and capable operators, who make the best use of resources. In this panorama there is a great production of potatoes, onions, courgettes, beans, peppers, which really make the Savigliano plain a wonderful place, a basin of immense riches for the entire province. Moreover even the climate is a singular and propitious condition for the products of the earth. Do not forget that here you can find also cereals such as wheat, corn, barley and oats, produced with natural systems without chemical substance abuse.
This plain is not just agricultural, in fact it was also the natural setting of the indissoluble binomial between the Savoy family and these areas, a past always present in historical memory, as witnessed by innumerable architectural and artistic traces. For example, the castle of Racconigi, is known for being the last hunting residence of the Savoy.
Castle of Racconigi Castle of Racconigi
In reality this construction dates back to a very remote period, although its current appearance is due to Guarini and subsequent nineteenth-century modifications. Its large park extends over 170 hectares at the back of the building, while inside you can visit the Hercules’ room, the Chinese apartments and the King and Queen’s rooms. An agricultural and industrial centre, Racconigi is also famous for its storks, which, since 1985 have returned to nest, thanks to the LIPU, in the centre of storks and ducks. Not so far from this centre you can find Cavallermaggiore, known for the town hall building, dating back to the fourteenth century and for the Confraternity of Santa Croce and San Bernardino, better known as of White Penitents, an eighteenth-century church designed by the Monregalese architect Francesco Gallo. The arcades of the city centre overlooked by the beautiful civic tower are also worthy of attention.
A plain rich in cities, artistic jewels, commerce and industries.
Cities are symbols of pleasures, or rather of the pleasure of discovering a lively and widespread presence of craftsmen, new and ancient crafts, firmly tied to the past. A myriad of countries that have, in short, known how to preserve their links with past history and with those gastronomic specialties, which represent the true pleasures of the table.
This is a land, as Giovanni Arpino has always maintained, that “runs in a single breath confusing its greys up to the distant curtain of the Alps”. These places, like Scarnafigi with its beautiful parish church frescoed by Jean Claret; Monasterolo di Savigliano, Villanova Solaro with a graceful fifteenth-century parish church, Murello Moretta known above all for the Sanctuary of the Beata Vergine del Pilone; Polonghera with its magnificent castle-residence of the Costa family and the Sanctuary of the Beata Vergine del Pilone, definitely worth a visit.
Treasures of art
This plain deserves an artistic break. After admiring the beauty of the landscape, the jewels of architecture cannot be overlooked. Above all, worth a visit the beautiful and majestic Taffini d’Acceglio palace, now the seat of the ‘Musés‘, built around 1620, attributed to the architect Ercole Negri of Sanfront and commissioned by Count Giusto Amedeo Taffini, governor of the city and the province. Inhabited in the eighteenth century by Isabella Savoia-Carignano, it was then purchased by the Savings Bank of Savigliano and it became the object of a wise restoration work. The frescoes of the hall of honour of the Taffini d’Acceglio palace undoubtedly represent the most important link between the dukes of Savoy and the nobility of Savigliano. The paintings were realised with great mastery around 1640 by Giovenale Antonio Molineri, with the collaboration of Jean Claret, Giovenale Boetto and perhaps also, Costanzo and Martino Arbaudi. The pictorial images tell the battles fought by Vittorio Amedeo l. The entire pictorial cycle takes place under the watchful eye of Carlo Emanuele I, who died in the city of Savigliano in 1630, who, from the top of the entrance, dominates the vicissitudes of war experienced by his heir with elegance and power.
