In Cuneo (a photo album)

October 20, 2021

It’s grey and chilly this morning. The forecast says it’s foggy now but should turn partly sunny by midday, but it’s wrong. It’s not foggy exactly, but it will remain grey all day and the sun never will break through. With a high of just 60 it’s not the most enticing day for a ride so we scrap plans for a climb up into one of the passes. It feels like the right day for me to finally take a slower look around town and for Rachael to give her rear a rest from the inconsistent roads and go off on a hike.

And besides, it will save us a round trip up and down those 55 stairs with the bikes. I neglected to mention before that when we returned from our slog through the chestnuts we found a note affixed to our bikes requesting that we use the bike racks instead of leaning them against a wall. There’s no space in the bike rack though, so we lugged them back upstairs. a disappointment, but we saved our knees and backs from one round trip at least.

Rachael’s hike

So this post isn’t purely a photo gallery for Cuneo, because one of us actually got some real exercise today. A lot of it, really. Rachael researched around and found a walk that starts right from town and follows the Torrente Gesso south to Borgo San Dalmazzo - an ambitious 13 mile round trip. She leaves around noon and returns four hours later, enthusiastic over what a fine hike she’s enjoyed. Fine scenery, solitude, a good walking surface, and no damn chestnuts!

At the last minute it occurs to me to step out on the balcony before she disappears from sight.

The view from our balcony, observing a cycling vagabond briskly walking off in the distance.

The Torrente Gesso. I’m surprised at how much water there is. When we’ve looked down on it from the bridge leaving town it looks like a broad, dry stream bed. I imagine this would be quite an exciting hike in the spring.

Not the same. Just some small creek, presumably on the climb out to Borgo San Dalmazzo.

Looking up at Cuneo on the return walk. Still no sunshine.

About Cuneo

it will surprise no one that I didn’t take my own 13 mile hike today. I sat around until about two hoping in vain that the sun might break through before finally walking out to see the town. I concentrated on walking out to the point of the wedge along Via Roma, the heart of the old city.

Cuneo is really starting to grow on me, now that we’ve been here for several days and I’m starting to find my way around town. We enjoyed a long chat with our young server over dinner at Trattoria Dei Colori two nights back, and she of course finds the town small and too quiet. She’s got the urge to travel and see the world, and spoke excitedly about the visit she recently made to Tenerife to try her feet at surfing.

For me though it’s a very attractive place and a good size. Easy to get in and out of town, great biking and hiking nearby, a good selection of restaurants, good rail connections to Turin and the coast. It feels like it would be an appealing place to stay for quite a long time - particularly if you found an apartment with an elevator.

Cuneo sits like the point of a pencil above the confluence of two small rivers, the Gesso (on the right, where Rachael took her walk today) and the Stura di Demonte. The city’s name comes from its shape: cuneo is the Italian word for wedge.

Most of today’s shots were taken along Via Roma. It’s a fascinating street to stroll along, with both sides lined with an unbroken series of palaces and fine houses that all seem worth a look. Beneath most of them is an information panel (in Italian) describing the building above it - its name, age, and presumably some historical background if I could read Italian. Most of the panels have photographs of the building before and after its most recent renovation as well as photos of key details to draw your attention to them.

Along the bottom of each panel is a map to the entire length of that side of the street, identifying every structure along it and highlighting this building to show its position. The entire street is a linear living museum.

The pedestrianized portion of Via Roma begins here, at Galimberti Square, the heart of the city. It was built in about 1800 after it was cleared when Napoleon destroyed the ancient city walls. It’s amazing seeing it so quiet today. On festival and market days it is filled with tents, booths, and people.

An example of the informational panels beneath nearly every building along Via Roma. The small red wedge beneath one of the buildings in the schematic at the bottom shows the position of this building - here, the 14th-15th century Casa Dalbesio.

A look down Via Roma, which is pedestrianized for a full half mile, from Galimberti Square to its end at the point of the wedge.

Surprisingly, this neoclassical building with the Corinthian columns is the cathedral.

It is very quiet along Via Roma today. With no motor vehicles within earshot, the primary sounds are footsteps, conversation, and bicycle wheels rattling along the street. From above comes the sound of a French horn and piano, sounding like students performing their exercises.

The 16th century Casa Quaglia. There’s enough surviving of its fresco facade for you to imagine how splendid it must have been in the past.

Both sides of Bia Roma are line with porticos with shops and restaurants. On a wet day you can walk the entire length and stay dry. It reminds us of a smaller scale version of Genoa or Bologna.

A detail of the 17th century Casa Collino.

Some of the side streets radiating off Via Roma are also quiet and enticing. They carry very little traffic, since none of them are through streets. The effect is that other than the boulevards around the perimeter, the entire wedge feels pedestrianized.

The 15th century Casa Silvestro-Giaime. I’m particularly intrigued by the elongated door and balcony on the lower left.

The Civic Tower and its palace. The tower dates back to 1317, but the palace is dated from the 14th through the 19th - so presumably it’s seen some changes in that time. I see that it’s possible to climb the tower, which must be amazing on a clear day.

The Church of Saint Ambrose, considered the most beautiful piece of architecture in the city.

The interior of the Church of Saint Ambrose. I’m the only one here today.

Walking along the perimeter road to the west above the Stura. Even though the street to the right carries traffic, there’s this fine walkway along the park above the river.

The guidebook says there are splendid views of the Maritime Alps from here, but not today. Perhaps we’ll come back on a clearer day and verify it some year down the road.

Returning to Via Roma along one of its side streets. The cars at the end are just parked in the street, since you can’t drive beyond there anyway.

Along Via Roma again. Still pretty quiet.

And a last look at still quiet Galimberti Square.

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Kelly IniguezHow do you find apartments in Europe? Is Airbnb over there also?
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2 years ago

Jacquie GaudetI use both Booking dot com and AirBnB for accommodation in Europe, along with country-specific bed-and-breakfast websites. Mostly I use Booking because more places are available with free cancellation and most don't require prepayment. Many (most?) listings are apartments.

Here in BC, where Al and I are between houses for a few months, I've been using AirBnB because most of the BC listings on Booking are much more expensive. Unfortunately, all the AirBnB properties require prepayment, often in full, and often with no refund if you need to cancel.
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Kelly IniguezLike Jacquie said. I agree with everything. Booking is a much better option over here in our experience.
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2 years ago

Kelly IniguezTo Scott AndersonI am stockpiling all of this info for future use, but, expect many questions when we get ready for the big European vacation!

I am booking our summer 2022 trip now. In Gunnison, CO we have stayed at the Quality Inn the past few visits. Both the town and the lodging have been a favorite for years.

As I have found so many places, they must be having trouble finding help. They have a number of current, negative reviews, as do several other places in town.

We ended up going with Airbnb. I’ve also checked them in several
Other locations. A key factor is to make sure and check all of the fees before booking. Are fees also a notable amount in Europe?

A side note-my Airbnb in Tucson for December is refundable. The same place in February was prepay, and no refund.

I don't know if the 2021 date was a COVID thing that I could get a refund, and they changed the rules for 2022? I have a lot more money on the table for the February booking! I had to think twice!
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Kelly IniguezI couldn’t say about fees with Airbnb in Europe, because we haven’t used it enough over here. It is something to be aware of with Boking though, particularly with apartments. It isn’t immediately obvious that there are service fees or deposits, because they’re typically buried in the policy statement. If you don’t open it to check out the policies you might miss it.
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2 years ago