Christmas in the hills: places in the Oltrepò Pavese among ancient stones, vineyards and flavours

It is an expanse of hills dotted with barren vegetation and neat rows of vines that draw gentle waves on the hills, a land that leads from the Po towards the Apennines: this is the Oltrepò Pavese, a slice of Lombardy where time, in this approaching winter, is measured between fog, stone, castles and Christmas decorations. In its territory coexist medieval villages, parish churches, castles and, above all, silent valleys and woods that mark the border between the plains and the mountains. Visiting the Oltrepò, in any season, is synonymous with slow and authentic tourism, where the main protagonists are the cobbled lanes of the small villages, the wine cellars, the flavours of salami and wine, but also a heritage of history, traditions and rural culture that is little known (despite its proximity to Milan) and far from the crowded streams of the better-known resorts. Here is a five-stage travel itinerary that touches different corners of this land and allows you to savour a piece of the authentic soul of the Oltrepò Pavese.