LAKE CANDIA AND THE SWEET HILLS OF THE IVREA MORENIC AMPHITHEATER BY E-BIKE ITINERARY N.2
Acini E Rose Guest House

Here is the tour we propose:

From Acini e Rose go up Via XX Settembre and, at the first crossroads, turn right into Via Don Carlo Martino Berta: what you see on your right is the Church of San Pietro, the original parish of Montalenghe, whose origins date back to 1300 Continue until the intersection with the SP217 and turn left onto Strada per Orio, Via Montalenghe and Via Patrioti. You are now in Orio Canavese; the road runs quickly downhill, continues along Via Giovanni Bosco, then Via Blanchetti and, without ever turning, keep right at the church of San Rocco, staying on Via Barone and then Via Orio.

You have arrived in Barone Canavese, more precisely you are in Piazza Statuto. Here the Church of Santa Maria Assunta dominates, built between 1729 and 1743 by the engineer. Costanzo Michela di Agliè: today it is decorated with terracotta elements and enriched by volutes marked by thin bricks.

If you want to lengthen the tour slightly, from here, we recommend taking a detour (about 10 minutes one way) to visit the Church of Santo Stefano, from where you can enjoy a very panoramic view.

Arriving from Via Orio, then turn left and proceed along Via Canonico Frola for approximately 150 metres, then turn right onto Via Camillo Benso Conte di Cavour and then left onto Via Santo Stefano. From here follow the road for approximately 1.30 km until you reach the Church of Santo Stefano del Monte. Once you have visited the church, go back along the road you took on the outward journey until you reach Piazza Statuto again.

The church of Santo Stefano del Monte stands alone on the top of the hill overlooking the town of Candia Canavese, in a panoramic position from which it dominates the Canavese morainic basin, with Lake Candia and the Alpine circle above. Built by the mid-12th century, the Church of Santo Stefano welcomed pilgrims traveling along the Via Romea, a route similar to the Via Francigena, throughout the Middle Ages.

Continue along Via Roma and, at the intersection with a small chapel, turn left onto Via Candia following the signs for Candia Canavese. Continue straight for about 700 meters until the intersection with the SS26 - Via Roma.

Depending on the day, a pleasant aroma of toasted cereals spreads here: you have just passed next to a mill, the Molino Roccati..

For three generations, and for almost sixty years, the Roccati family has managed this mill where it transforms Piedmontese raw materials (such as ancient corn and fine grains from Canavese) into "00" and "0" flours, type 1, type 2 flours, wholemeal, spelled, rye, a 5-cereal mixture and polenta flour. The mill also produces meliga paste, puffed corn cakes... here's what the scent was revealed... and excellent unpasteurized craft beers.

All Molino Roccati products can be purchased at the company shop. Check the website for opening hours.

Here you have to pay particular attention, because you are close to a curve and the visibility is not optimal: cross and then take the downhill road on your left, still following the signs for Candia. After about 300 meters turn right following the signs for the Provincial Natural Park of Lake Candia. Be prepared for a very steep stretch of road which, passing under the railway with an arched passage with traffic lights, becomes Via Lago and takes you to the western shore of Lake Candia. If you continue for a hundred meters you will find a public park with an equipped area, services and access to the lake pier.

The Natural Park of Lake Candia was established in 1995, as the first Italian provincial park: it is an area that extends for almost 350 hectares, between the municipalities of Candia Canavese, Mazzè and Vische, among the most important and least anthropized areas wetlands of Piedmont, as well as SIC-Site of Community Interest.

Lake Candia, like that of Viverone, is of glacial origin and is part of the Morainic Amphitheater of Ivrea. It is the Canavese basin that has best preserved its naturalistic peculiarities.

In addition to the lake, the park is home to reed beds, marshes, woods and meadows which offer refuge to a vast biodiversity: over 200 different species of birds as well as toads, squirrels, wild boars, foxes and bats. There are over 400 floral species present, including some uncommon hydrophilic varieties. In the waters of the lake you can find carp, tench, rudd, pike, catfish and largemouth and king perch.

In all seasons of the year it is possible to visit this park along a series of well-marked itineraries, either on foot, by bicycle or on horseback.

Every year Lake Candia hosts national and international sporting events and it is possible to practice numerous water sports such as rowing and canoeing: for those who want to try their hand at some discipline, it is possible to rent equipment at the Lago di Candia Sport Sports Society , present on site.

For a moment of relaxation, however, on Sundays it is possible to take part in an electric boat excursion accompanied by a biologist.

The restaurants on the only usable bank offer a varied offering, without ever forgetting the typical Canavese and Piedmontese flavors in general.

The waters of Lake Candia are constantly monitored by the relevant bodies, but total bathing cannot be guaranteed: refreshment is however guaranteed by the Antharesworld swimming pools, a summer swimming pool with an adjacent lawn where you can sunbathe and enjoy the view of the lake in total tranquility.

Adjacent there is also an adventure park, the first acrobatic park in Piedmont. It directly overlooks the lake and is located within a forest of lime and plane trees. Equipped with 68 tools divided into 10 routes of increasing difficulty and height, it is accessible from 5 years old and without age limits!

Consult their website for more detailed information.

After a well-deserved stop here at Lake Candia, take the road that goes into the fields and passes in front of the Al Cantun restaurant.

You are now along one of the many paths that surround the lake, immersed in wheat fields and hilly woods. In the distance you can see the Alps, which frame the gentle morainic hills and the Erbaluce vineyards.

Continue straight without ever deviating until the end of the dirt road and then, near a small votive pillar, turn right into Via Vische.

After about 750 metres, in Cascine Margherita, you will find the Visitor Center of the Candia Lake Park. Inaugurated in 2002, it develops along the final stretch of one of the lake's emissary canals and consists of two small buildings surrounded by an area equipped with benches and tables.
Numerous plant species have been planted in the garden and along the canal bank; the paths are instead bordered by dogwood and hawthorn bushes and the visitor center itself is covered in lush honeysuckle.

The visitor center is also home to the Park's ornithological station and hosts the fish hatchery created to encourage the reproduction and breeding of native fish species.
For info and opening hours: 345-7796431 / viveiparchi@gmail.com

Just before the Visitor Center of the Candia Lake Park, near the church of Santa Margherita, you will find a playground surrounded by greenery with an adjoining picnic area.

From the Park Visitor Center continue for another 2 km and then turn right returning to the dirt road and following the signs for Lago di Candia and the Sentiero delle Pietre Bianche.

Continue on the dirt road and then turn first right and shortly after left until you reach the Strada Provinciale del Lago dei Candia. Here turn right and continue for 1.2 km until you come across a slightly uphill road on your left (you will find it shortly after the La Barcaccia restaurant). Continue along this road surrounded by fields and orchards (during the cherry blossom season, in particular, the landscape and colors are wonderful!) until you cross Via Motta. Here turn right and continue straight along Via Cairelli until the intersection with the SP 295.

You have now arrived in the municipality of Mazzè, which includes the hamlets of Barengo, Casale and Tonengo. It rises around the ancient Valperga Castle, located on Colle San Michele, overlooking the morainic amphitheater of Ivrea and overlooking the wide bend of the Dora Baltea.

The historic center that overlooks the modern town includes the ancient shelter, the nineteenth-century noble palaces, the parish church and the castle.

At the intersection with the SP 295 turn left, continue straight and at the roundabout follow the signs for Cigliano (you are now in Via Adriano Bergandi). Then turn right onto Via Italia and after 300 meters turn left onto Via Luigi Perino.

Continue without detours to Piazza Camino e Prola where you will find the Parish Church of Saints Gervasio and Protasio. Then continuing on Via Castello you reach the Mazzè Castle.

The Parish Church of Saints Gervasio and Protasio is located on the top of the moraine hill of Mazzè, at the foot of the castle. Certainly built before 1286 (the year in which it was mentioned for the first time in a document), what can be seen today is the result of numerous interventions and profound transformations carried out over time.

In front of the Parish Church of Saints Gervasio and Protasio you will find a cool tree-lined park where you can stop for a break and from where you can enjoy a beautiful view of the Dora Baltea river and the Vercelli plain, until you can see, on days of full visibility, the dome of San Gaudenzio in Novara.

You are currently in the historic center of Mazzè, dominated by the Valperga Castle, dating back to the end of the 13th century. Since ancient times, two castles have faced each other: the large one, dating back to the fourteenth century, and the small one with crenellated walls and a high fifteenth-century corner tower.

After the nineteenth-century renovation, the complex presents itself as a more homogeneous whole. The interiors are characterized by large rooms with coat of arms fireplaces and coffered ceilings, frescoed rooms and tapestry displays.

In the ancient basement of the castle it is now possible to visit the Torture Museum.

For info and reservations: 011-9835250 / info@castellodimazze.it

When visiting Mazzè, we recommend you try its typical confectionery product: Canestrello di Tonengo.

Canestrelli are typical desserts from the Canavese area and the Susa Valley. Their preparation dates back to medieval times when, arranged in woven wicker baskets, they cheered up important occasions.

The Canestrello di Tonengo differs from its many namesakes thanks to its shape similar to that of an ancient doubloon and its lemon fragrance, characteristics that make it easily recognizable among all the others.
They are still made by hand and cooked on irons shaped like large tongs, which can be made of cast iron or iron. Their processing starts from a mixture of flour, butter, eggs and sugar, mixed together following a very specific order and worked until the right consistency is obtained. The dough is then left to rest and divided into many small balls of 3-4 grams each.
They are then placed on hot irons, crushed and cooked for about 1 minute. Once cooked, the canestrelli are removed and left to cool in special containers, the baskets, hence the name "canestrelli".
In 2004 the canestrello fully entered the "Basket of typical products of the Province of Turin", together with its namesakes from Borgofranco, Rondissone, Montanaro and Vaje.

From the castle continue along Via Castello and, with a short detour, you reach the Church of Santa Maria "la Madonnina" which you find by taking the dirt road in front of you (via San Michele).

If you are interested in a guided tour of the historic center, we recommend taking part in the tour organized by volunteers from the Mazzè Proloco. They will take you to discover its ancient history, monuments, churches and its castle. For information and reservations contact: scopri.mazze@prolocomazze.it

Now go back and turn left (Via San Michele). At the crossroads, turn left again and continue for 350 metres. At the next intersection turn right onto Strada Barengo.

Continue straight for 7.3 km along a pleasant road surrounded by green meadows, crops and sweet vines, until you reach the municipality of Vische, more precisely in Piazza San Bartolomeo.

In this square you will find a cool shaded garden of plane trees, which houses the War Memorial and the Parish Church of San Bartolomeo, of medieval origin, then remodeled in 1585.

Proceeding along Via Roma, towards Caluso, you will find the Bottega dei Bombi, an almost obligatory stop if you love sweets!

The Bottega dei Bombi (the name that children once gave to sweets) is an artisan workshop whose main production is characterized by hand-cast jellies in corn starch. The sweets are produced with essential oils and natural flavourings, or with local fruit juice and pulp. Here you can choose from over 40 flavours. We recommend you try "Sukai", soft licorice-flavoured gummy candies covered in sugar. Born at the end of the 19th century, they are characteristic of the oldest Turin candy factories. The production of sweets was also accompanied by that of meliga paste (corn flour), a typical Viscose biscuit, and canestrelli, produced according to a family recipe and offered in many variations. Consult the website to find out the store's opening hours to the public.

Continue along Via Roma and then onto Via Enrico Brugo. Here on your right you will find a large green area with tables and benches, a water fountain and a children's play area. Long

Continue along Via Roma and then onto Via Enrico Brugo. Here on your right you will find a large green area with tables and benches, a water fountain and a children's play area. Along this stretch you will surely have noticed, at the edges of the road, a series of temporary artificial barriers. It is a "toad pipeline" to protect the hundreds of Dalmatian toads and frogs which, during their reproductive migration, head towards the shores of the lake.

To allow the animals to cross the road unharmed, some concrete channels with a cast iron ventilation grill were placed under the road surface. At the edges of the roadway, barriers convey amphibians to the tunnel entrances, ensuring their safety.

Continue along Via Lago and then always forward, preparing for a climb that will make you appreciate having an e-bike even more! Once you reach the intersection with Via Roma, turn left and, shortly after, right onto Via Barone, which will later become Via Candia.

Continue without detours, reaching Via Orio, Via Ernesto Blanchetti, Via San Giovanni Bosco, Via Patrioti, Via Montalenghe and Strada per Orio.

From here, in Via Don Carlo Martino Berta, at the crossroads immediately after the church, turn left and thus find yourself again from Acini and Rose.

You have returned to the starting point and have concluded your excursion.

Now all you have to do is put down your e-bikes and enjoy some well-deserved rest on the terrace at Acini e Rose, perhaps sipping a glass of Erbaluce or regenerating yourself with the hydromassage of the BLU RELAX, our intimate wellness area reserved only for guests.

We will see each other soon