Wednesday 11th May 2022 – Near Pietraporzio, Italy

 

A relaxed morning catching up on blog and looking at the view. We decided to spend a little more time in the area and, after visiting a local archaeological site, we decided that we would go to the campsite that we were originally heading for yesterday. Jane paid for the stay, at €32.50, the most expensive stay of our holiday so far. At one time, Italian agroturismo sites were very good value but, although the site was pleasant and the facilities were good, I find it difficult to justify that price.
I decided to drive to Augusta Bagiennorum via the village of Vergne where the campsite (Camping Sole Langhe) is located. I really wanted to have a good Italian meal before we left Italy and there was a restaurant within walking distance of the campsite. I stopped by the restaurant and went to look at the menu posted outside. It looked very good and there was plenty of action there – the door was open and there were a number of people working inside. Just to be sure I thought that I would check that they were open that evening. Wednesday is their day off – all plans on hold! The campsite looks to be in a lovely position and has been put on our list for some time in the future.
We arrived at the car park for Augusta Bagiennorum that also doubles as a car park for the local nature reserve. We were rather surprised by the designation as a nature reserve as we were surrounded by fields of crops and nothing suggested that there was anything of interest there and there were no archaeological remains to be seen. We found a sign that showed the route of a walk that would take us around the sites of the Roman town and started walking. The information boards were very good but there was not a lot to see. This is definitely a site for archaeology enthusiasts!
We passed a board that showed that we were at the gate of the Roman town and there was a good drawing showing what it would have looked like. It also stated that the position of the tower bases could still be seen on the ground but they must have better eyesight than us! Much money has been spent on the consolidation of the temple but it is still only a pile of pebbles with the column positions and temple layout marked in the concrete. We walked on over the forum, all but a very small section of which is under fields, to the site of the theatre. This was much more interesting, although we have seen lots of Roman theatres. On again to the site of the amphitheatre with only a small amount visible. It was a pleasant walk with some archaeological interest. Time for lunch and some re-planning.
We were heading for France via the Colle della Maddalena, a route we chose for the scenic roads and because we wanted to avoid the main, much busier border crossings. Park4Night showed us that there were lots of options on the route, so we headed for the Alps, those snow-capped mountains that we had seen in the hazy distance for the last couple of days.
A pleasant drive followed and, as we past Borgo San Daimazzo, we turned west and started climbing into the Alps. We arrived at Sambuco and the aire that we had identified on Park4Night. The road was not busy, although there were a few lorries on it, but the aire is high above the road away from any noise and just on the edge of the village. The views from the site are exquisite – snow-capped mountains and up and down the steep-sided valley. We had identified two restaurants in the village so I would be able to be able to get my Italian meal. We walked in to find a pretty village that would obviously be humming in the winter season but was very quiet. The restaurant had a handwritten sign on the door that we thought said that it was closing at 17:00 tonight. The door was closed and it was after 17:00, not a good sign. We found a local man and he confirmed that the restaurant was closed and so was the other one. He was very apologetic but it wasn’t his fault!
Back to the van and we drove on to the next aire, only a couple of miles further up the valley, just beyond Pietraporzio, and next to a village with two restaurants. Another good aire with lovely views, although not as good as Sambuco. We walked up into the village to find both the restaurants closed. Back to the van for a home-cooked dinner and we dropped off to sleep to the sound of the mountain stream gurgling below the site.

Photos: View across the vineyards to the town of Barolo; It is a very wealthy area as can been seen by some of the buildings; The theatre of Augusta Bagiennorum; The view from the Sambuco aire; The local man who told us that the restaurants were closed was teaching two children how to climb on the wall of the closed restaurant.