• Lifestyle
    • Active & Green

Towards the Upper Oltrepò

An itinerary travelling through ancient villages, mountain landscapes and gourmandise

As you leave the plains behind you the land rises sharply in rolling hills as far as the mountains and then on to the sea. The Alto Oltrepò area is, in fact, a small area which is accessed at the end of the Staffora valley which the Ardivestra and Nizza valleys join.
The landscape is hilly and dotted with attractive medieval villages, castles, fortresses and patrician residences but its natural environment also invites you to walk through its forests.

There are many farm holiday hotels, trattorias and restaurants which seem not to want travellers to leave.
A journey through the Alto Oltrepò is, in fact, a journey through the gourmet flavours of a fertile rural countryside: agnolotti alla vogherese, ravioli alla varzese, spinach beet malfatti, chicken liver risotto, peperonate, boiled meats and mostarda, braised beef, charcuterie (Varzi salame, bacon, coppa, cotechino, sanguinacci), mushrooms, truffles, bread, fruit, honey, hard almond cakes, 'ossa dei morti', doll shaped biscuits (Büsélâ) and - obviously - wine.

Here, as Cesare Angelini wrote, the air is suffused with the sweetness of grapes and must.

Note that two of the area's towns are part of the Borghi più Belli d'Italia - most beautiful towns in Italy - club: Zavattarello and Porana (part of Pizzale), the latter is outside this itinerary and a few kilometres from Voghera on the Voghera-Pavia road.


Attachments

Scarica l'opuscolo dell'itinerario Verso l'alto Oltrepò

Greenway  Voghera-Varzi

Voghera-Varzi cycle and pedestrian trail not open to motorised vehicles The greenway covers an extensive section of the Oltrepò Pavese along the river Staffora and the track of the old Voghera-Varzi railway (which forms the back bowne, reaching the entire Upper Staffora Valley) and connects the nearby territories, which, although not directly touched by this cycle and pedestrian trail, are profoundly linked from a tourist and environmental point of view. The Voghera-Varzi trail: starting from the Voghera velostation we pass through the villages of Codevilla, Retorbido to reach Rivanazzano Terme; it is then possible to continue on the urban section through the town of Godiasco and the section from Ponte Nizza to the hamlet of Molino del Conte.

See also

The botanic garden of Pietra Corva

  • Parks
The botanic garden of Pietra Corva

Brallo Di Pregola

  • Villages
Brallo Di Pregola

Oramala Castle

  • Villages
Oramala Castle

Planetarium & Astronomical Observatory

  • Active & Green
Planetarium & Astronomical Observatory

Civico Museo di Scienze Naturali

  • Art & Culture
Civico  Museo di Scienze Naturali

Godiasco Salice Terme

  • Villages
Godiasco Salice Terme

Eremo di Sant'Alberto di Butrio

Set up from a miraculous healing, the religious building immersed in the quiet of the Apennines
  • Religious Tourism
Eremo di Sant'Alberto di Butrio, Churches of Pavia

Il Magazzino dei Ricordi

Il Museo conserva la memoria storica di Zavattarello, ricordando l’immenso patrimonio culturale e le tradizioni del luogo.
  • Art & Culture
Il Magazzino dei Ricordi

Menconico

  • Villages
Menconico

Montesegale

Un piccolo borgo autentico della provincia di Pavia dominato dal castello e con la passione per l'arte e il tiro con l'arco
  • Villages
Montesegale

Museo d'arte contemporanea

"Giuseppe e Titina dal Verme" - Castello di Zavattarello
  • Art & Culture
Museo d'arte contemporanea

Museo Storico Giuseppe Beccari

  • Art & Culture
Museo Storico Giuseppe Beccari

Ponte Nizza

  • Villages
Ponte Nizza

Retorbido

  • Villages
Retorbido

Rivanazzano Terme

  • Villages
Rivanazzano Terme

Santa Margherita Di Staffora

  • Villages
Santa Margherita Di Staffora

Tempio della Fraternità dei Popoli

  • Religious Tourism
Tempio della Fraternità dei Popoli

Valverde

  • Active & Green
Valverde

Village of varzi

Back to the past across the architectural beauties and the alleys of the medieval village
  • Villages
Village of Varzi

Village of voghera

Palaces, churches, castles ... and a good sip of wine in the heart of the Oltrepò
  • Villages
Village of Voghera

Zavattarello

In a postcard landscape of the Oltrepò Pavese, there are Zavattarello and its castle, linked to the powerful Dal Verme family.
  • Villages
Borgo di Zavattarello (PV)

The Salt Route

From Varzi to the sea
  • Active & Green
The Salt Route

Molana del Brallo

La Molana del Brallo è un formaggio a pasta cruda, molle, da fresco a breve stagionatura
  • Food & Wine
Molana del Brallo

Oltrepò Pavese

Good food, excellent wine, medieval villages. The Oltrepò Pavese surprises and conquers with its charm.
  • Food & Wine
Oltrepò Pavese, a borderland triangle

Nature preserve Monte Alpe

La bellezza della montagna in Oltrepò, riserva naturale con elevata biodiversità.
  • Parks
Monte Alpe

Oltrepò Pavese, le Vie del Gusto

The tranquil Oltrepò is the home of 36 DOC-certified wines, which accompany a traditional cuisine with its roots in Italy’s remote history
  • Food & Wine
Salame di Varzi

Cencerate Potatoes

  • Food & Wine
Cencerate Potatoes

Peperone di Voghera

Il peperone di Voghera è una varietà autoctona e pregiata e merita una particolare attenzione per le sue particolari caratteristiche organolettiche
  • Food & Wine
Peperone di Voghera

Pizzocorno

Il formaggio Pizzocorno, dalla forma quadrata e dall’aroma intenso e deciso, prende il nome dal piccolo borgo – frazione di Ponte Nizza – nel cuore della Valle Staffora
  • Food & Wine
Pizzocorno

Salame di Varzi D.O.P.

The origins of Varzi Salame are to be found in the dawn of time
  • Food & Wine
Salame di Varzi D.O.P.

Chiesa dei Cappuccini

  • Art & Culture
Chiesa dei Cappuccini

Circuito Tazio Nuvolari

Un circuito tecnico, vario e divertente, in una posizione strategica a Cervesina (PV)
  • Sport
Circuito Tazio Nuvolari

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