The Prunent of Ca' da l'Era and the Cantinitt of Megolo

We are exactly in Megolo di Fondo, a small portion of the town that with Megolo di Mezzo and Megolo di Cima, form one of the hamlets of Pieve Vergonte. On the border with Anzola d'Ossola, Megolo is home to one of the most unique and rare places. We are talking about the Cantinitt, a historical nucleus now semi-abandoned in which among the ruins of the "giavina" or landslide, small buildings in living stone were dug and built at the beginning of the 1700s, small houses without windows, only one floor with the typical slate roof. Their architecture makes them unique in their simplicity and in complete harmony with the mountain to the point of almost merging. They were used for the conservation of wine, but also of cured meats and cheeses, because thanks to their special shape, the air currents channeled between the rocks, allowed the temperature to be maintained constant both in winter and in summer.

Photo by Romeo Monti, 1904
Source: archivedelverbanocusioossola.com

The small and pretty village is unfortunately in a state of abandonment today, in fact the last memories of celebrations date back to 2004. It was in the summer that the Cantinitt transformed into cool places where you could spend Sundays drinking the sweet "merican" wine, and eating cheese, salami and chestnuts. On August 10th the village dressed up for the Patron Saint of San Lorenzo when it was customary to dance and sing in the cool of the pergolas.

“A small orchestra played the traditional tunes that accompanied the dance, once on beaten earth and then on a simple cement dance hall. Under the chestnut trees, the inviting and irresistible scent of ribs spread, cooked on the large grill, washed down with “sau”, the delicious condiment of oil and spices whose secret was tenaciously guarded: they arrived on the tables accompanied by wine stored in the cool cellars, with nustran and cured meats and, until late at night, the patrons spent the summer hours sitting on the stone benches, around the tables also in stone, enjoying the fresh breeze that came down from the mountain through the branches of the chestnut trees. Time passes inexorably and, for some decades, the cellars no longer see their rebirth for San Lorenzo, going more and more towards oblivion: the weeds and brambles are invading the whole area, the slate roofs are starting to show signs of damage and subsidence and another characteristic corner of the old Pieve is disappearing. Every now and then, there is talk of reactivating the characteristic festival but, perhaps, it is only a beautiful dream that, like all dreams, vanishes at dawn.”
Taken from “Il Rosa” text by Attilio de Matteis.

Photo by Romeo Monti, 1900
Source: archivedelverbanocusioossola.com

And 2020 is the year of the turning point. After much research, my husband Marco and I, fascinated and in love with this enchanted place, were kindly granted it by a true Megolese, one of the Cantinitt. Having the key to one of these small cellars in your hand is a unique feeling, in these places you can breathe a magical air, an air that exudes history, exudes past lives, exudes almost forgotten traditions. Our intention is to leave the Prunent to rest in the quiet and silence, then taking you to visit these uncontaminated places.

We hope that in the future we can do something more to maintain the current state of conservation of this historic center and that we can, why not, go back to celebrating like in the old days.

In the meantime, we will take you to discover these abandoned places that exude stories of past lives that absolutely must be preserved and kept alive with a short trip (by car) in which we will tell you all the curious stories linked to this magical place.