The experience
Lanzo is the gateway to the valleys of Lanzo, whose main symbol is the Devil’s Bridge, considered one of the most beautiful and fascinating bridges in Italy.
It was built in 1378 to connect the small village of Lanzo with the city of Turin, separated by the Stura river and around its construction there are numerous legends that see, in fact, the devil’s hand.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, Lanzo became a holiday destination for many Turinese, also thanks to the arrival of the railway.
In this context, the city hosted two important figures of social saints, St. Joseph Cottolengo and Don Bosco, who, on the remains of the old Benedictine monastery, founded the horticultural garden for children, also starting professional courses.
Worth mentioning are the Ethnographic Museum of Textile Art and the “House of the Breadstick”
The museum is located in the seventeenth-century Palazzo degli Estensi and preserves the memory of Lanzo’s manual activities, illustrating the different stages of processing.
In 1679, the physician Teobaldo Pecchio, with the help of the baker Antonio Brunero, invented the breadstick to cure Victor Amadeus II’s lack of appetite. A plaque commemorates this event outside Pecchio’s house.
As far as the local cuisine is concerned, the Toma di Lanzo is very famous, produced in the pastures and pastures of the valleys.
A short distance from Lanzo is Pessinetto. Its first official document dates back to the hovering of the territory, granted by the Marquis Guglielmo VII of Monferrato, then lord of Lanzo, to some valley dwellers. The condition was that they install a furnace for the smelting of iron ore, so the town was christened Forno di Pessinetto.
The route continues towards the village of Lities, located in Cantoira in the Val Grande di Lanzo. In this small village you will have the opportunity to feel like you are in the time of your great-grandparents. It is a fascinating museum spread among the ancient houses of the village, where information boards equipped with QR-codes allow you to give voice to the stories and memories of those who lived in these houses, thus giving you the opportunity to enjoy the atmosphere of past times.
There is also a small house museum called “Ca’ dou Rousèt”, where the typical rooms of the houses of the past have been carefully recreated. This authentic dive into the most ancient memory offers a faithful re-enactment of everyday life, with a stable and three rooms that house a rich collection of everyday objects used by your ancestors.
Shortly
Tour
Lanzo Valleys
You will start the day with a guided tour in the heart of the historic center of Lanzo, along narrow streets characterized by a fascinating narrowness and steepness and picturesque alleys that cut through the village. Along the way, you will admire the famous Devil’s Bridge, the majestic Civic Tower that houses the municipal library, and the headquarters of the Ethnographic Museum of Lanzese Popular Textile Art. During the twentieth century, skilled embroiderers from the village created fascinating tapestries, furnishings and accessories, creating authentic masterpieces of craftsmanship through the application of delicate crochet details on raw canvases.
The Ethnographic Museum of Textile Art is housed in the evocative seventeenth-century Palazzo degli Estensi. In addition to preserving the memory of the manual activities rooted in the tradition of Lanzo, the museum promotes their rediscovery by illustrating the various stages of processing related to textile art in local history.
You will see with your own eyes the “Casa del Grissino”, home of the doctor Pecchio who, according to tradition, cured and healed Vittorio Amedeo II by inventing the breadstick. Lanzo Torinese is credited with the paternity of the Turin breadstick, a distinctive culinary contribution not to be confused with the stolen breadstick of Chieri, also present in the province of Turin.
Lunch at a lovely local restaurant in Pessinetto.
In the afternoon, you’ll explore the townships with your guide, including the charming village of Vrú and the beautiful Lities museum in Cantoira. Each stage of the museum, accompanied by interactive signs, narrates an aspect of life in the village, from the customs of the school to the most peculiar traditions, ending at the house museum, where over a thousand objects of the life of the past are exhibited.
Let us guide you on your journey to the Roots
Don't miss the opportunity to explore the places that have shaped your origins, request a tailor-made itinerary without obligation
