Armenia, the home of 'slow' tourism among canyons, monasteries and ancient wines

Le tradizionali anfore di terracotta nelle cantine di Areni

A couple of hours from the capital is Areni, an agricultural village famous for its delicious red wines, where in 2007 a team of archaeologists discovered the oldest wine cellar in the world, over 6,000 years old. The tradition is still alive: here, wine is produced in terracotta amphorae as it once was, and the quality is really high thanks to the dry, windswept soils. Walking around Areni is like going back to our countryside of a century ago: dirt roads, women who at sunset, when the sun gives a little respite, sit in the courtyards drying chillies with their children.

Not far from Areni is the Noravank Monastery. It is impossible not to be open-mouthed by the extraordinary combination of thousands of years of history and red rock walls that turn ochre at sunset. The absolute silence invites meditation, the beauty of the place is moving and the advice is to sit and admire the spectacle until dusk. Armenia has dozens of beautiful monasteries, but if you have to choose just one, there is no doubt: it is Noravank.

Giochi di luce nelle pareti di roccia di Goris

We continue towards the border with Iran, skimming past the Azerbaijani exclaves that pop up here and there in these fragmented and conflict-ridden lands, and arrive in Goris, the town that in 2023 hosted Armenian refugees fleeing from nearby Nagorno-Karabakh, finally conquered by Baku's troops. Today, the town has returned to its charm as a tourist destination surrounded by imposing rock walls where cave villages once stood: at night, the caves light up in a kaleidoscope of lights. The central square of Goris, on the other hand, is a bizarre juxtaposition of classic Soviet buildings, gardens and an unusual copy of the Eiffel Tower.

From here it takes less than an hour to drive up to the Tatev monastery. To get there, one can choose between a scenic and winding road - watch out for trucks coming from Iran - and the Tatev Wings, the world's longest cable car financed in 2010 by the tycoon Ruben Vardanyan, who following the victorious Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno Karabakh is now imprisoned in Baku. Tatev is another place of high spirituality: as in Noravank, a university stood here in medieval times, and indeed the site lends itself perfectly to study and recollection.

Il ponte tibetano che conduce al villaggio rupestre di Khndzoresk

On the way back to Goris a short diversions leads to the unpronounceable Khndzoresk, an impressive rock village now abandoned but which less than a century ago was home to thousands of families, shops and schools. Reaching it is a double adventure: first you have to drive along a rutted dirt road and once you park your car, you have to cross a rickety Tibetan bridge suspended over a 60-metre cliff. For those who do not suffer from vertigo, it is a very enjoyable experience. About four hours by car takes you back to the hustle and bustle of Yerevan, home to the country's only international airport, which is also connected to Italy. Alternatively, you can drive north for a stay in Georgia: but that is another story.