Friday, October 23, 2020

Wine and Food of the Giro 2020 Stage 19: Morbegno to Asti

Where are we?
Morbegno, dynamic town, is rightly considered the “gate of Valtellina”: any itinerary in the territory of the most important Lombard valley can only start from here. The peculiarities of its environment make it an attraction for every type of tourism: alpine, cultural, artistic and food and wine. A paradise for mountaineers, skiers and hikers, the cradle of Valtellinese culinary art, Morbegno – as well as being the home of the Mostra del Bitto, the famous cheese made from fresh milk processed in summer in high mountain huts – is also a village rich in history and traditions. The historic center, with its churches, its palaces and its characteristic districts, invites you to take long walks, with an obligatory stop in any of the many taverns, wineries or many restaurants that celebrate the Valtellinese flavors. In a place like Morbegno, where nature is so intimately linked to local taste and culture, the Civic Museum of Natural History finds its ideal location, known as the most important scientific museum in the province of Sondrio and one of the most active in Lombardy which collects fossil and mineral finds from the entire valley. The city was awarded the title Alpine City of the year 2019. 

Specialties: PIZZOCCHERI, LOCAL BRESAOLa, SCIATT, TAROZ, LOCAL CHEESES SUCH AS BITTO AND CASERA, RYE BREAD, POLENTA TARAGNA, CUPETA, BISCIOLA, MORBEGNO CAKE

Asti: The historical event of Asti has been characterized since the beginning by its peculiar commercial vocation linked to the centrality with respect to the communication routes between the Ligurian coast, the Po valley and alpine passes.The foundation of Hasta dates back to 125-123 BC, years of the military campaigns of the consul Marco Fulvio Flacco in southern Piedmont. Located along via Fulvia – commissioned by Flacco himself, from which it took its name – in less than a century Hasta becomes a colony and develops into a populous and economically lively center, thanks also to the quality of its best known products, wine amphorae and terracotta pots exported everywhere, as Pliny the Elder writes, “by sea and by land”.Like other colonies in southern Piedmont, Hasta undergoes a progressive demographic and economic impoverishment starting from the third century. A.D., but also records new religious and social ferments with the establishment in the middle of the fourth century. of a Christian community, destined to soon become diocese.Episcopal see organized and attested already in 451 AD, when in 568 the Lombards descended to Italy, Asti for at least three centuries has seen its population drop and lost its prosperity, but once again its geographical position of the city, combined with the palatability of its fertile lands, pushes the Lombards to establish one of the four Piedmontese duchies in Asti, certainly one of the most important in Italy if the first known Duke of Asti is Gondoaldo, brother of Queen Teodolinda. 
With the arrival of the Franks at the end of the eighth century, the committee was governed by the duchy, governed by a count, that is an official of imperial appointment. After the death of Charlemagne, the progressive disintegration of the Empire and its organizational structures meant that in Asti, as in other peripheral realities, a large part of public goods became the patrimony of the Church and that, little by little, the authority of the bishop replaces the public administration in decay. And the Church will play an important role for Asti, ensuring even in the most difficult centuries of the city’s history that minimum of civil organization indispensable to a city.In the IX and X sec. the bishops of Asti, in addition to guaranteeing the functioning of Asti, implement a promotion policy towards the emerging classes of the city dedicated in particular to trade. The “rebirth” of the Asti trade is probably due precisely to the meeting of urban merchant needs with the organizational direction given by the bishop: this mutual exchange will lead to an institutional transformation of local powers and the affirmation of an orderly and stable structure from which both local and longer-term trade will benefit greatly.
In the following century, the birth of the Municipality (1095) sanctioned the formal recognition by the bishop of the ability to self-govern these new social and economic forces.In 1141 the emperor Corrado III recognized in Asti the ius faciendi monetam, the right to beat one’s own currency.With the certainty of a “strong” currency, the trafficking of the Astigiani, along the Genoa-Oltralpe route, intensified, also in consideration of the fact that Asti had become for Genoa the indispensable intermediary in trade between the sea and Liguria and the ‘internal.The merchandise and money from Asti arrived almost everywhere in the fairs of small and large centers in Europe, from Burgundy to Champagne to the kingdom of France, and from there to the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, with certificates also in Pannonia , Spain and England.The municipal period sees Asti reach the peak of its political and economic power: the Municipality in fact extends its jurisdiction over much of southern Piedmont, while great wealth flows into the city thanks to the resourcefulness of its merchants, who were also soon pre-paid. In 1226, in fact, according to the testimony of the chronicler Ogerio Alfieri, the credit activity of the families of the “Lombards” of Asti began, operating at home in the government of one of the main municipalities in the Po Valley and exercising, at European level, a function prominent in the international credit market.
The attestation of the Palio custom, which took place that year near the walls of Alba, dates back to 1275 after the Asti victory over the Albesi during the conflict between Asti and Angiò and their respective allies in the region.At the end of the thirteenth century, Ogerio Alfieri, in weaving the praise of the “powerful municipality that dominates most of southern Piedmont”, notes that the property value declared in the land register by the taxpayers of Asti amounted to about half a million lire of real estate, while citizens’ securities capital reached an extraordinary figure of over two million lire in the Registrum (or land register).Over the course of just over a century Asti became so rich and splendid that it was known throughout Europe. Between the second half of the thirteenth century and 1348 the town was reorganized: an imposing city wall was built, noble families built majestic palaces and raised towers, the Cathedral was restored (1266: construction of the bell tower; 1309: interventions on the presbytery; 1348: conclusion of works). Asti is politically weakened by the first internal struggles, but remains the collector of enormous wealth: the Lombards of Asti become bankers and coiners of the Pope (1342-1362), finance the English crown (1338-1356) and operate as bankers of the Aragonese rulers (1391) ; Simone di Mirabello, son of an Asti banker and treasurer of the Duke of Brabant, was regent of Flanders between 1340 and 1346.
The great wealth of the city catalyzes on Asti the expansionist aims of the emerging lordships of the Po valley: after a few decades of oscillating relationships of the urban magnatice class with the Marquis Monferrato and the Visconti, in 1387 the city and its territory, pass to the Orléans as a gift of Valentina, daughter of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, on the occasion of her marriage, with Ludovico di Touraine (from 1391 duke of Orleans). The elaboration of the Codex Astensis, the municipal liber iurium preserved in the Municipal Historical Archive, dates back to this phase, to be understood as the “ideological manifesto” of a solid urban ruling class, which claims the prestige of its past and the recognition of its own prerogatives by the new principles.The cohesion between the local patriciate and the dukes of Orleans will guarantee a further period of prosperity in Asti: the Società del Moleggio (1397) was born, which through the excavation of a new channel strengthens factories and mills in the city, while members of the Asti elite in the during the long domination of the Orléans (1387-1529) they assume key roles in the ducal administration.
In 1529, with the treaties of Cambrai, Asti was ceded by the king of France, Francis I, to the emperor Charles V and from these, in 1531, to the infanta of Portugal Beatrice, wife of Charles II, duke of Savoy: the city , occupied for a long time by Spanish troops, it passed under direct Savoy rule only in 1575. At the time it was an important cornerstone of the Savoy kingdom for the dynasty.However, the social and economic crisis, starting from the 16th century, diminishes Asti’s political weight. Emanuele Tesauro wrote around the middle of the seventeenth century: “After various misfortunes, the happy fortune made this city finally rest under the shadow of the Royal House of Savoy”.In the 18th century Asti was one of the main theaters of military campaigns involving the Savoy state: from the war for the succession of Spain (1703), to the war for the succession of Austria (1745-46). 

Specialties: Autumn and winter are the “main” seasons of the Asti and Piedmontese cuisine.• Raw beef with truffle (trìfula), veal with tuna sauce, peppers in bagna cauda, ​​veal tongue in green sauce (bagnet verd), “electric” tomini (cheese with chilli pepper), rabbit tuna, are just a few of the typical Asti appetizers.• Donkey Agnolotti, hare agnolotti; egg tagliatelle (tajarin) with roast sauce, truffle or porcini mushrooms, for the first courses.• Boiled fatty beef with “tanning” polenta (seasoned with stringy cheese).• the financier: the name of this recipe derives from the suit, called just “financier”, usually worn in 1800 by bankers and high finance men, who seem to like this dish very much; other sources suggest instead the origin of the name in the tribute in kind paid by the farmers to the guards (the financiers, in fact) to enter the city. Tribute mainly composed of the offal of chickens, still today among the fundamental ingredients.• Piedmontese mixed fry (fricia) linked to the pig slaughtering ritual and the need not to waste anything. It included innards, black puddings, lung (fricassà bianca), liver (fricassà nèira), sweetbreads. Over time, it has been enriched with new ingredients and there are numerous versions: pumpkin flowers and amaretti are typical of Monferrato.• roast veal and braised beef with barbera or barolo.

Desserts• Polentina from Asti, made with almonds, raisins, maraschino and covered with yellow polenta.• Amaretti from Mombaruzzo or Canelli, soft almond biscuits.• The hazelnut cake.• The zabaglione with Barbera or Muscat.• The ancient mon (pronounced “mun”) of Mongardino (soft brick).• The peaches at the Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato.

Cheeses• Robiola di Roccaverano, fresh DOP cheese, prepared with cow’s milk, sheep’s milk, goat’s milk.• Robiola di Cocconato, fresh cow’s milk cheese (it was once made with raw milk).• Piedmontese Toma, cow’s milk cheese, whose history dates back to the 14th century.




The stage:  A strike! Well, this was new. The riders, or at least a very vocal portion of them felt that such a long stage in the last few days of a Grand Tour in the cold of northern Italy was a bad idea. So bad that they refused to ride.
A reminder that tomorrow's stage was being altered, due to Covid regulations in France. 
There are going to be a lot of stories that come from this, but let's hear from Adam Hansen first:
He continued:
Eventually they did start riding again, with a new new official start time Abbiategrasso. and a new stage length of 124 kilometers.
After that restart, Bora was determined to control the race, working for Sagan. A group would get away, but their gap was small. It would however continue to grow.
On the road:The peloton would sit up, allowing the break to go and likely win the day.
The break riders:
Victor Campenaerts (NTT), Simon Pellaud (Androni), Josef Cerny (CCC), Iljo Keisse (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Sander Armée (Lotto-Soudal), Giovanni Carboni (Bardiani), Nathan Haas (Cofidis), Marco Mathis (Cofidis), Simon Clarke (EF), Lachlan Morton (EF), Alex Dowsett (Israel Start-Up Nation), Albert Torres (Movistar), Jacopo Mosca (Trek-Segafredo), and Etienne van Empel (Vini Zabu)
Their gap would quickly go out over five minutes. Thirty eight kilometers to go and the gap was at 7:43. Thirty kilometers to go and they would start to attack in the break.
Twenty five to go and there was a split that looked like it would stick. In the front, six riders: Campenaerts, Simon Clarke, Pellaud, Armée, Cerny and Mosca. Next to launch, Cerny. Twenty kilometers to go and he had 22 seconds. Keisse had joined the group behind. Seventeen kilometers and it had gone out to 37 seconds. Ten kilometers and 28 seconds. Six kilometers, 25 seconds. Four kilometers, 22 seconds. This would be tight.
Two kilometers and 21 seconds.
He would hold on!
Stage top 10:
1Josef Cerny (Pol) CCC Team2:30:40
2Victor Campenaerts (Bel) NTT Pro Cycling0:00:18
3Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo0:00:26
4Simon Clarke (Aus) EF Pro Cycling
5Iljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep
6Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal
7Albert Torres Barcelo (Spa) Movistar Team0:01:10
8Simon Pellaud (Swi) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
9Giovanni Carboni (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane'
10Alex Dowsett (GBr) Israel Start-Up Nation

No GC change.

The wine: Balgera Valtellina Superiore - Valgella Riserva
From the importer: The Valtellina is a very small wine-producing region in the mountains north of Milan, just south of the Alps that border Switzerland. The predominant grape variety is Nebbiolo, usually referred to here as Chiavennasca, and this is (along with the Barolo/Barbaresco area and the string of appellations in northern Piedmont, such as Ghemme and Lessona) one of the best places for this classic variety. The Valtellina valley runs East-West, and the steep slopes on the northern face of the valley are terraced for grapevines in what the Italians call 'heroic viticulture;' the amount of work involved in establishing and maintaining the terracing alone is hard to imagine, never mind working the vineyards. The soils here are largely morainic, the climate distinctly cooler than the Barolo zone, and red grapes are grown at altitudes up to 500 meters or more, which is unusual in northern Italy.

The Food: Robiola Tre Latti
The "tre latti" (three milks) indicates that this cheese is a blend of cow's, goat's and sheep's milk, in proportions that probably vary with the seasons. Mixed-milk cheeses such as this one are common in regions where farmers keep mixed herds. They help the cheesemaker manage seasonal fluctuations in milk supply. 
The cheese itself is very creamy, with a slight tang.
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