La Darbia blog

Italian treasures that are popular on the web

Text by Claudia Femia

Mar, 15 settembre 2020
Italian treasures that are popular on the web
There are places that enter our imagination thanks to a beautiful photo shared on social networks, scenic places consecrated by the web via images with a high emotional impact. If you like taking scenic photos, if you love iconic places, if you are a devotee of breathtaking views, then this post is..

There are places that enter our imagination thanks to a beautiful photo shared on social networks, scenic places consecrated by the web via images with a high emotional impact.

If you like taking scenic photos, if you love iconic places, if you are a devotee of breathtaking views, then this post is definitely for you!
Five destinations not to be missed, five Italian treasures (close to La Darbia) that the web has rediscovered and relaunched in all their evocative beauty. Here they are, all for you. Later you will tell me what you think...

I would put the mighty Bard Fort, an ancient fortress that dominates the entrance to the Aosta Valley since the Middle Ages, in first place. Above the narrow gorge that flanks the Dora Baltea, the fortress appears fascinating and majestic: inside almost three hundred rooms with steps, prisons and powder kegs, outside a panoramic path overlooking mountains and glaciers. From Napoleon to Stendhal, many illustrious characters have passed through here, while today even Marvel has chosen it as a film set for some scenes of the colossal Avenger.

Moving from the Alps to the plain, I would take you for a stroll in the beautiful Piazza Ducale in Vigevano, a true open-air living room, an extraordinary example of Renaissance architecture. Commissioned by Ludovico il Moro, Duke of Milan, and designed by architects such as Bramante, the square was to be a sort of royal entrance to the Visconti castle. An elegant harmony can still be felt today in this large urban space: sitting at the tables of the bars, walking under the arcades between arches and capitals or admiring the refined frescoes on the facades you can perceive the beauty of a square that the great Toscanini compared to a musical symphony "on four sides".

If you haven't already admired it on Instagram, I very happily propose it in third place among the most iconic of our territory: it is the evocative Lake of the Horses, a paradise of turquoise water in the upper Antrona Valley. Lying in the basin of an ancient glacial lake, this basin was created about a century ago after the construction of a large dam. According to tradition, its name derives from the habit of leading horses, donkeys and mules to graze in the green plain before it was submerged by the artificial lake. Today its waters have an intense color that reflects the blue of the sky and the green of the larch forests. It is impossible to resist the temptation to immortalize this pristine landscape.

The fourth treasure that you can discover not far from La Darbia are the sinuous hills of Monferrato, with their narrow streets of white earth that wind through the fields in a patchwork of cultivated squares and woods, ancient medieval villages and towers with crenellated walls. Slow tourism itineraries, to be traveled on foot or by bicycle, in the countryside enlivened by lavender fields, noble vineyards and the so-called "Big Bench" the giant benches by Chris Bangle (now more than fifty) which are now a real attraction of the territory.

Last (but not least) treasure of the web, the Stupinigi hunting lodge, a jewel of the Savoy court, refined eighteenth-century residence, royal seat of parties and weddings. The sumptuous baroque façade surmounted by the statue of the deer, as well as the frescoed halls, the precious chandeliers, the stables and the large park are a perfect setting for taking fabulous images. On the other hand, Stupinigi was the first to host a "ménagerie", that is to say a zoological garden, with not only thousands of fallow deer, but also bears, jaguars, kangaroos and even the African elephant given to King Carlo Felice of Savoy by the governor of Egypt and nicknamed Fritz.

It is therefore true, our territory always gives great satisfaction, postcard images, snapshots so beautiful that you never take them out of your head.