Welcome to Coazzolo, landscape of art and art of landscape
Welcome to the hills that UNESCO, in 2014, recognized as a World Heritage Site!
Coazzolo is a privileged place from which it is possible to enjoy the beauty of the surrounding landscape. It’s located in the perfect «Middle Earth», a small town halfway between Langhe and Monferrato, between Bassa and Alta Langa. Just to the north of the town rise the first hills of Monferrato, the hills of Asti, famous for the production of Barbera wine. To the west, spread the hills of Barbaresco, on which stand the elegant baroque palaces of Neive. Behind Coazzolo, proceeding southwards, rise the ridges of Alta Langa, land of pastures and hazel trees, woods and wheat fields: here the presence of man becomes sparser and leaves room for unspoilt nature that, meter after meter, reaches the virgin and silent forests of Ligurian Apennines. A final mention goes to the hills that stretch to the east, steep and abrupt, intensely cultivated with vineyards, characterized by white soils such as limestone: these are Moscato Hills, that proceed in the direction of Saint Stephen Belbo and draw some of the harshest and most attractive landscapes of the Langhe, marked by miles of terraces built thanks to centuries of human industriousness using the precious Langa Stone.
The halfway position of Coazzolo inside the Langhe was certainly at the origin of the birth of the first settlements and, later, of their fortification. It was in 1196 that Oberto of Covazolio, for the first time, mentioned the village. It was a very small settlement, according to the place-name “Covazolium”, derived from the word “covum”, that means «cavity», with the addition of the diminutive -eolum, that is «small excavated place». Although the town was so small, its importance was crucial, because the construction of the Castle, presumably around the ninth century, was strategic for the control of the Valley Tinella, crossed by the ancient Roman road that connected Alba and Asti, the main cities of the area.
Coazzolo was always firmly under control of Asti, a bulwark of Monferrato city-state inside a territory under the strong influence of Alba. At the end of battles between City-States, the Castle passed under the ownership of the Cacherano, noble family of Asti that, substantially, exercised their feudal rights until the advent of Savoy, in the sixteenth century.
The present-day town was born from the union of several villages, of which the main one, during the centuries, was identified with the Fortress, the place where today are located the Castle, restructured in the eighteenth century, and the Parish Church of Saint Siro, built around the end of ‘600.
The position of Coazzolo played an important role also for the community. This is clearly indicated in medieval cadastres, which describe the municipal possessions divided into three areas: a wooded one, located in the district of the Rocca, the second one used for grazing, downstream in the region of Prato Rotondo; the third one, most important by extension, included the peaks of the hills in the direction of Mango: it was the «Vinaia» or «Vignatiis», more than 18 Piedmontese days dedicated to the most profitable activity of the area, viticulture.
Vineyards, woods and pastures. The Castle and the Parish. The winding and panoramic roads that, forking, connect the main wine-growing districts of the territory: still today, the landscape of Coazzolo is its greatest fortune. A wealth of gazes that the Township and its inhabitants have consciously chosen to transform into art through interventions to enhance the landscape that represent a shining example of dialogue between the creativity of man and the original genius of nature.