Baldissero Torinese: Trails, Hills and Piedmontese Cuisine

Baldissero Torinese combines landscape, trails, architectural history and Piedmontese cuisine. If you would like to combine nature and local history during a trip to Italy, you will find several clearly distinct themes here. The Parco Naturale della Collina di Superga covers 801.95 hectares and includes Baldissero Torinese. It was established in 1991 to protect and enhance an area with significant ecological, architectural and landscape features. The Collina di Superga is also designated as a Special Area of Conservation.

Trails with different routes

Circular Route 1, “Percorso Dla devossiun”, starts and ends at the church square of the Chiesa della Madonna della Spina in Baldissero Torinese. Sentiero 51 runs from the centre of Baldissero to Còrdova. Strada della Fonte leads to the San Genesio spring in the Rivodora district of Baldissero Torinese.

Church, chapel and local history

The local history includes the Parrocchia di Baldissero Santa Maria della Spina and the Cappella del Toetto. The parish church was built between 1715 and 1725 on the site of an earlier Visconti castle and is an example of late Baroque Piedmontese architecture. The present-day Cappella del Toetto was created by renovating and enlarging an older building in the 18th century. Every year on 8 September, the Cappella del Toetto hosts a celebration of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.

A well with an unusual shape

The Pozzo della comunità has an hourglass-shaped shaft. The upper diameter is 10 metres, the narrowest point in the middle measures 2 to 3 metres, and the lower diameter is approximately 14 metres. The shaft is about 42 metres deep. Until the introduction of the drinking-water supply in 1959, the Pozzo supplied the historic centre.

Leisure area on the park boundary

The Centro Turistico Ricreativo Comunale Paluc lies on the boundary of the Parco Naturale di Superga. It has play areas, tennis and five-a-side football courts, equipped rooms, a kitchen and bar service. When choosing your hotel, you can focus your trip on these themes: trails, nature, architectural history, festivals or cuisine.

Festivals, produce and wine

Baldissero also offers specific culinary points of interest. The Festa d’le fròle takes place every year on the first Sunday in June as an exhibition and market for strawberries from Rivodora. The typical pesca di vigna from Baldissero is used to prepare a traditional Piedmontese summer dessert. Traditional Baldissero Torinese cuisine includes grissini, salami, meat, vegetables and cheese. Freisa di Chieri is designated as a local DOC wine; in autumn, its vineyards shape the gentle contours of Baldissero’s hills. Cari is also designated as a local DOC wine.

More destinations

More destinations for your own research: Frassinetto, Romano Canavese, Moriondo Torinese, Sestriere, Gassino Torinese, Sparone, Buttigliera Alta, San Pietro Val Lemina.

For the higher-level travel overview: Turin.