Piedmont Hazelnut PGI

There are landscapes that seem to have been born this way.
In reality they are the result of thousands of gestures repeated over time.

The hazelnut groves of the Bormida Valley are one of these. They follow the contours of the hills, line the paths, and border farmhouses and small villages. More than a mere crop, they represent a way of inhabiting the land.

When the landscape is born from work

Looking at the Bormida Valley from above, it's difficult to distinguish where nature ends and man's work begins.

The hazelnut groves blend naturally among the woods, meadows, and small vineyards, following the rhythm of the seasons without altering the balance of the hills. The neat rows of trees line the slopes, creating a landscape that constantly changes with the light, the wind, and the color of the leaves.

It's a discreet presence. It doesn't occupy the territory. It interprets it.

The cultivation of the Piedmont PGI Hazelnut still represents one of the most important agricultural activities in the valley and helps keep alive a heritage of knowledge passed down through the generations.

In the municipalities of Cortemilia, Castino, Torre Bormida, Perletto, and Levice, hazelnuts continue to be a part of everyday life. Here, the harvest still follows the rhythm of summer and early autumn, when the ground fills with freshly fallen fruit and the work shifts slowly from one row to the next.

The beating heart of the valley 

Cortemilia

Cortemilia is the urban centre of the valley, with mediaeval porticoes, ancient stone buildings, and the scent of hazelnuts in the air. 

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A village that surprises at every turn

Castino

Castino sits atop the Alta Langa hills, a stone-build village packed with rural memories and surrounded with landscapes that retain their historical essence. 

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A hillside village, shaped by the river and the hazelnut groves. 

Bormida Tower

Torre Bormida boasts stone terraces, hazelnut groves, and drying sheds, set in an agricultural landscape that begs to be explored with patience. 

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On the slopes of Bric Puschera 

Perletto

Perletto sits on high ground, a place of stone houses and vine terraces that accompany the view along the ridges. 

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Balanced on the side of the hill 

Levice

Levice lies on the ridge between the Bormida and Uzzone Valleys, a stone village with wide views and a captivating sense of peace. 

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A quality that comes from balance

The quality of the hazelnut does not depend only on the variety grown.

Terrain matters. Altitude matters. Sun exposure matters. Time matters.

The hills of the Bormida Valley offer a particularly favorable environment: well-drained soil, good ventilation, and strong temperature variations between day and night accompany the ripening of the fruit without forcing it.

For this reason, each harvest retains its own characteristics, linked to the progress of the season and the natural conditions of the year.

Behind every hazelnut lies a carefully managed agriculture. The farms are often family-run. Many crops are tended directly by those who live in these places every day, maintaining a constant connection with the landscape and contributing to the maintenance of the hills, terraces, and rural paths.

This balance between production and territory is an important part of the Bormida Valley's identity.

More than one ingredient

For those who come to the valley, hazelnuts are naturally the star of many artisanal desserts, biscuits, and spreads. But reducing them to just one ingredient would be limiting.

The Piedmont Hazelnut PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) speaks, above all, of an agricultural culture that continues to shape the region. It speaks of companies that open their doors to visitors. Small workshops where processing is still carried out on an artisanal scale. Local markets, shops, and producers who know every hill from which their crops come.

For those who choose to live in Val Bormida, all of this becomes part of everyday life.

The hazelnut groves become part of the panorama seen from the window. The seasons are interpreted by observing the color of the leaves. Agricultural work marks the time of the land naturally, without needing to be narrated through grand events.

It is this continuity that makes the hazelnut one of the most authentic symbols of the valley.

Not because it's the most famous product. But because it contributes, day after day, to keeping alive the landscape that makes it recognizable.