In the magnificent setting of Roddi Castle, the “Community Kitchen” is presented: a symbolic place that hosts chefs, premium raw materials and producers.
The first “community house” was already quoted in the 15th century as a place where “the heads of the house were called to elect the community counselors in the aforementioned dispute against the local landlords. The house […] was also the seat of the local court. […]”.
The Fair Body offers visitors experiences of great quality and charm in a place rich in history. The relevance of the Castle of Roddi becomes a virtual venue through which the Langhe Monferrato and Roero area interacts with the world and delivers an intertwining experience that merges history, culture, art, food and wine.
Alongside digital experiences, the “Community Kitchen” will also host cooking courses led by national and international chefs and organized dinners with starred chefs which will involve producers of the finest raw materials cooked and narrated by the protagonists.
A digital course that, thanks to the Truffle Judges of the National Truffle Study Centre, will guide you through the discovery of the most precious mushroom in the world.
The course will be further enriched by notions on the research method, the organoleptic basis for the truffle quality, and the presentation of the whole kit for the correct handling of the Tuber magnatum Pico, consisting of gloves, truffle slicer, and a box container for the Alba White Truffle.
A cooking school that, through theoretical and practical courses, will teach the traditional recipes of Langhe, Monferrato, and Roero and the great iconic dishes of the most important national and international chefs.
Greatest chefs will engage in thematic dinners where Piedmontese food and wine excellence will play a major role.
Top quality products, duly presented by those who produce them, will be skilfully transformed through the hands of the most important chefs of the International Alba White Truffle Fair network.
The cooked dishes will be paired with the most important wines of the Langhe: Barolo Docg and Barbaresco Docg, Alta Langa Docg thanks to Sommelier AIS (Italian Sommelier Association).
Of all the Langhe Castles, the castle of Roddi is often defined as the most interesting from an historical and architectural point of view.
Lying on the top of the hill, it majestically overlooks the village. It was owned by Gaio Francesco della Mirandola, descendant and grandson of the famous humanist and philosopher Pico della Mirandola.
We have to go back to the XI century to find evidence of the first fortified building located in the same place where the Castle is now; the construction of the Castle, as it is today, probably dates back to the end of the fourteenth/beginning of the fifteenth century and was probably due to the work of the powerful Faletti family from Roddi.
Historically speaking, another important date is 1526 when the property was transferred to the Counts of Mirandola and later, in 1690, to another owner, the Chiesa family. During the Congress of Vienna, the Savoy family took possession of the Castle, which will become a state property first and later, in 2001, property of the Municipality of Roddi. The Castle is characterized by a central 3-storey structure and two cylindrical towers; the two towers are different from each other: the first one is slender and tall while the one on the opposite side is lower.
This typology is defined as “Dongione” (donjon); this term is used to define the tallest tower of a castle, designed to serve both as an observation deck and final shelter, in case the rest of the fortress should be taken by enemy forces.
A similar typology can be found in the Castle of Serralunga, a small town not far from Roddi, although the towers of the latter are less integrated into the central structure of the castle and are more imposing. The defensive solutions conceived for the Castle of Roddi are more modern than those of Serralunga; in particular we find on the top floor the machicolations, slit-shaped holes which allowed different military tactics.
Unfortunately there is no remaining record of the drawbridge that protected the Castle, the access is now through an external courtyard.
The major surprises are to be found inside with several decorations and coffered wooden ceilings as well as magnificent historical kitchens dating back to the sixteenth century.
Credits: www.castellodiroddi.it
