The Historic Heart of Novello

The historic core of the town runs in line along crest of the hill. The visitor who crosses the main street, the axis on which the buildings were arranged over the centuries, cannot fail to note that this town played an important role in history. Indeed, it was the seat of the Marquis of Carretto and the feudal lords of the empire.
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The wedge-shaped historic town will attract the visitor with fortified houses and arched passageways that wind their way to the town center. Other notable sites include the parish church and the Church of the Brotherhood which both date to the 1700s, the castle, the fifteenth century palace and probable home of Bargello as well as diverse examples of peasant architecture, signs of Novello’s strong agricultural traditions.
Novello, a town of history, art and vineyards, offers visitors the serenity of a return to life on a human scale. Its unique landscape and pristine environment offers trekking routes highlighting the many badlands, springs, wayside shrines and rural chapels of the area. The genuine cuisine of the Langhe, celebrated for its rustic and refined flavors, should also not to be missed; for here the guest is sacred, as in the days of Homer.

Town Overview

 The town of Novello is located 471 m. above sea level along the top of the rolling Langa hills.
To the west, the hill slopes gently down to the Tanaro River, along whose banks the hamlet of Fornaci unwinds. The town of Monchiero borders it and, on the left bank, the hamlet of Moriglione that marks the extreme edge of the municipality along the border Lequio Tanaro.
Up until early last century, the inhabitants of both sides crossed the river by ferry and sometimes during harsh winters, over its frozen surface.
To the east, the hill provides a natural observation point over the Langa del Barolo, whose beautiful, perfectly cultivated vineyards, unfurl like a large open fan. From here, the flawless vineyards, arranged like the tiers of an amphitheater unfold on the towns of La Morra, Serralunga d'Alba, Barolo Castiglione, Falletto, Perno, Monforte d'Alba and the sea of vines beyond. Novello is also a town of Barolo the most renowned of wines, a fact acknowledged by other local wines crowned with greatness: Dolcetto d'Alba, Barbera d'Alba, Langhe Nebbiolo, magnificent red DOC and white Pinot wines, as well as Arneis and Nascetti from the native Novello grape that bears the towns name.

History
 

The Liguri were a prehistoric people who once inhabited the western area of northern Italy, between the sea and the Po. The so-called “Liguri Stazielli” were noted as one of the tribes that had allocated land between the Tanaro and the Bormida.
In this way, these primitive peoples described by the historian Tito Livio as “hard armed people” and as hardworking, strong and able to withstand the fatigue and dangers of war by Greek and Roman historians, came to inhabit Alba and the Langhe.
Whether Ligurian tribes inhabited the Novello hills can neither be proved nor denied. After fierce resistance, the Stazielli were finally defeated in 173 BC at Caristium (possibly present-day Cartosio in the province of Alexandria) by Roman legions led by the consul M. Popillius Lenate.
Alba became a municipality allied to Rome in 89 AD
Ancient Roman artifacts, including a plaque, some medals and coins, mostly related to the time of Emperor Domitian Novello, were unearthed and recorded in Goffredo Casalis’ well-known dictionary.
The Latin name, "Novellum Albensium Pompeianorum", or "Novello of the inhabitants of Alba Pompeia,” is mentioned by Casalis. The name Novello stems from a number of sources: the classical word "Novalis" or, “the land used to farm for the first time," the Latin verb "novellare" which means "to plant new vines," and the adjective "Novellus" which simply means "new" or "cleared recently.
The place name might suggest that the town of Novello was founded in Roman times.
The history of the town can be reconstructed with greater clarity beginning in the year 1100 when Bonifacio del Vasto, descendant of Aleramo, lord of Monferrato took possession of it. Upon his death in 1142, Bonifacio bequeathed his namesake the Marquis of Cortemilia and various places in the Langhe, including Novello to his sixth-born son. His son’s successor, Enrico il Guercio, patriarch of the Marquises of Carretto, participated in the Crusades.
The lords of Carretto built their castle into the solid rock of the hilltop. Despite being a strategic and defensible location with a commanding view it was nevertheless destroyed by the Spanish army in 1437. In the 19th century, the Gonin left an incision depicting the mighty ruins that remained.
The Marquises of Carretto continually declared themselves vassals of the Holy Roman Empire for political motives even after they submitted to the Duchy of Savoy in 1726.
In 1731, Carlo Emanuele II of Savoy sold the castle and its annexed lands to the Marquis Agostino Oreglia of Castino and Farigliano. Afterwards, the Luserna Marquises of Rora inherited it.
During Napoleon's campaign in Italy, a French army column commanded by the Hon. Augeraux stopped on the plains of Pradone, on the west side of the hill, where it was possible to monitor the other French columns preparing the attack on Cherasco.
After the Restoration Period, the Novello’s history mirrored the events of House of Savoy as well as the many twists and turns of Italy’s history.
The townsfolk of Novello fought in the struggles of the Risorgimento and the two world wars, as evinced by the monuments dedicated to the fallen. In the struggle of resistance against fascism, many young people joined the partisan groups and many families offered their help and hospitality.