San Giovanni Resort – Saluzzo (TO) – Italy
Saluzzo is a small town in Piedmont full of historical places & wonderful churches. I knew about Saluzzo thanx to my teachers during my studies because Saluzzo was born in 1100 & was an important political & economical center in Italy. The oldest Saluzzo is located at the top of an hill where you’ll find a wonderful medioeval village that has a great view on the adjacent valley. Please I think that Saluzzo has to be visited because it’s charming..for more information, take a look at this site & the official Italian Page and remember to visit the Saint John Church & the Cathedral.
St. John Resort (San Giovanni Resort – web site here) is a small hotel (13 rooms & 2 suites) located inside the Convento di San Giovanni (St. John’s Monastery). The rooms are located on the upper floors of the building, overlooking the peaceful cloister and a stunning view of the town, and were once the residence of the Cistercian and Dominican friars who spent there their religious existence. This means that in this resort you’ll have the special chance to live “inside” the history of this magic site..you will have private access to the St. John church & its frescoes, but also you’ll have a chance to drink something inside the cloister or visit the wonderful rooms: Capitulary Hall and the Refectory with great frescoes & funeral monuments. These are the reason why the St. John Resort is also a Museum. Inside this wonderful resort the time seems to be stopped with the great opportunity to feel strange perceptions based on the contradiction between our times & the medieval ones. I think that this is unique & unmissable. Inside the resort, you have also a chance to eat at the “Ristorante Al Convento”. The restaurant has a very good atmosphere under its barrel vaults & with the kitchen looks onto the dining room. The chef offer local recipes with local products that seems to be really interesting. Also in the restaurant you live the same atmosphere of serenity & history. The location is warm with a few of tables.
I ate..the king of Piedmont in November..the Truffle!
The starter was smoked goose chest, then Risotto with truffle & fonduta (melted cheese). Fried eggs with truffle chilled dessert made with chestnut ice cream Nothing extremely incredible but everything was really good with great raw material. Risotto was well done & the truffle was an high quality one. The dessert was really interesting & well balanced. The choosen wine was Moccagatta Barbaresco: Bric Balin that was a very good discover because it's a local wine in Piedmont with high quality. Here you can find all the informations about this wine.
Overall is an interesting experience for food increased by the atmosphere & the charming location!
Saluzzo is a place to be discovered & St. John Resort is a place with lots of uncovered internal rooms! Don’t miss it!