The town of Alba has a terrific appeal. This makes me know more about the place. The production of Piedmont's most famous wines gives the place a lure that elevates it almost to a wine lover's place of pilgrimage. Alba is certainly a major wine centre but it does not live just for wine.
Alba's main wealth comes from Miroglio, a hugely important textiles concern, which has a number of factories around the town, and from the local Ferrero chocolate company. Moreover, Alba is rather small, squashed into the narrow strip between the River Tanaro and the Langhe hills, with little space for other than a tiny old centre surrounded by a cluster of modern but smart residences.
Most of Alba's very small shops straddle one narrow street via Vittorio Emanuele II, which runs out of the central square, Piazza Savona. Several shops sell wine and more offer various types of often costly, edible goodies, not to mention truffles when in season, as well as related products, truffle oil, pate, cream, paste, etc. throughout the year. The street is even more crowded on Saturdays when market stalls fill its centre. At the other end of Vittorio Emanuele, some of Alba's famous towers draw eyes steadily upwards. Apart from these and the nobility of the Duomo San Lorenzo, Alba's magnetism quickly palls.
Alba's main wealth comes from Miroglio, a hugely important textiles concern, which has a number of factories around the town, and from the local Ferrero chocolate company. Moreover, Alba is rather small, squashed into the narrow strip between the River Tanaro and the Langhe hills, with little space for other than a tiny old centre surrounded by a cluster of modern but smart residences.
Most of Alba's very small shops straddle one narrow street via Vittorio Emanuele II, which runs out of the central square, Piazza Savona. Several shops sell wine and more offer various types of often costly, edible goodies, not to mention truffles when in season, as well as related products, truffle oil, pate, cream, paste, etc. throughout the year. The street is even more crowded on Saturdays when market stalls fill its centre. At the other end of Vittorio Emanuele, some of Alba's famous towers draw eyes steadily upwards. Apart from these and the nobility of the Duomo San Lorenzo, Alba's magnetism quickly palls.
0 comments:
Post a Comment