The experience
At the Special Reserve of the Orba Stream, in the province of Alessandria, in addition to the Interactive Historical Museum of Orba, there is the only area authorized by the Piedmont Region for the search for gold for educational and amateur purposes. Like other gold rivers in the Po Valley, the Orba stream has been the subject of intense “gold fishing” activity over the centuries and in some periods of real industrial cultivation.
There are numerous testimonies of this activity, collected in the then historical museum of Italian gold established in 1987 in Predosa. Since the beginning of 2019, they have been grouped together in their final form in the Casal Cermelli Gold Museum. The choice of the village is not accidental: many inhabitants still remember the stories of their parents who, as children, helped their older relatives to collect and sift the gold sands of the Orba.
Adjacent to the museum of the gold digger is the “PORTI D’I BARLAFìS” (PORTS OF THE BARLS), a very rich collection of tools of rural civilization used in past centuries by the local population.
About twenty km away in Novi Ligure you will end the day with a surprising and delicious journey during the visit of a company that has been synonymous with artisan excellence since 1943. Founded in Genoa in the 1940s, in 2014 Bodrato moved to Novi Ligure in a new and modern factory. The production of chocolate takes place according to traditional methods handed down over time.
Tradition together with attention to detail and passion for chocolate have led the owners to transform a small laboratory into a renowned high-level chocolate factory that uses only top quality raw materials: IGP Piedmont Hazelnuts, Pancalieri Mint and Garbagna Cherries and much more. Cocoa also comes from the most precious South American cultivars (Peru & Ecuador) that respect biodiversity and local work.
Shortly
Tour
Gold in the Orba
Your day will begin by visiting the “Oro dell’Orba” museum to learn about the history and learn the theoretical gold panning instructions that your grandparents or great-grandparents practiced regularly. You will learn research techniques and take your first practical tests.
You will be provided with the appropriate equipment and with everything you need – boots, buckets, shovels, channels and search plates – you will begin this incredible adventure.
By sifting, washing and refining the sand until all impurities are removed, you will begin to see the golden specks with the naked eye.
You will take home 92 percent pure gold, harvested with your own hands.
During the experience you will enjoy a sinoira snack with the typical products of the Monferrato tradition.
You will end the day with a visit to a company in Novi Ligure that produces chocolate.
Here you will learn the secrets of the entire process, from roasting the bean to making chocolate, tasting some small delights produced on the farm. You’ll closely observe the machines in operation to understand the craftsmanship and precision required to create high-quality chocolate.
An unforgettable experience to see the masters of chocolate at work,
enriched by the discovery of the historical and cultural roots linked to the chocolate tradition of the region.
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