Barolo struggles with tourism trials

© Tom Hyland
| Tourism is rapidly changing the face of Barolo, the rapid development of the town has even seen the opening of its first pizzeria.

For much of the year, the town of Barolo is a quiet little hamlet. But from late spring, and throughout summer and into early fall, when the famous local white truffles are in season, Barolo becomes a travel destination for thousands of people around the world. entire.

And for a small town of less than 750 inhabitants, this becomes a problem; how much of a problem it is and whether a tourism boom is a good thing or not depends on who you talk to.

Amanda Courtney left the Boston area to live in Barolo 11 years ago. She started her own tour operator business four years later, taking small groups to the Langhe district, which includes the production areas of Barolo and Barbaresco. She points to 2014 as a starting point for the masses of tourists who are now flocking to this region. That year, the wine landscape of the Piedmont region, including the hills of the Langhe, was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which brought this territory to worldwide attention. Courtney also thinks the great success of the 2010 Barolo vintage – the wines were launched in 2014 – has put even more emphasis on Barolo. “All journalists, even those not known for wine, are raving about this magical Barolo vintage that sold out before July.”

The new wave of tourism is not appealing to some local producers, including Maria Teresa Mascarello, whose winery (Bartolo Mascarello) is located in the center of Barolo town. Mascarello recently built a new warehouse not far from his cellars with a large courtyard that facilitates the passage of trucks. “It had become more and more difficult here at Via Roma 15, with tourism and traffic to deliver by truck. Now we work in a safer way”, she remarks.

“It is now a problem, because there are too many tourists, and many of them have no knowledge of wine. Mass tourism is not the type of tourism that interests us. has created a problem with good tourists who are passionate about wine. wine. So it’s a big problem in our village like in Monforte d’Alba or La Morra. You have to have a project to control tourism, to choose the tourism that the We would like to entertain Our villages are not suitable for mass tourism And also because we only offer wine and food – if you are not interested in wine and food, why come to Barolo? “

Federico Scarzello, whose cellars are also in the town of Barolo, near that of Mascarello, has a different point of view on this question. “Of course, the number of tourists has increased in recent years. I don’t think it’s a bad thing that we are now dealing with a large number of tourists. Of course, the large number of tourists is not every day .We have a lot of tourists especially on weekends and specific seasons like mid-autumn or spring.”

Scarzello, who is a member of the city’s tourism administration, admits the area has had a problem with an abundance of tourists in recent years, but is reluctant to end it. “What can we do now?” We stop people, and we say to them: ‘Okay, you are the hundredth, and after you there is no more room for tourists’?

Scarzello points out that during the pandemic, domestic tourists, those he describes as “not very wealthy, not spending a lot of money, have saved the tourism industry on weekends. We must consider that we cannot not ask local tourists to save us when we need it.” He also thinks new tourists, even those who don’t know much about Barolo or even wine in general, shouldn’t be banned from visiting. “Some come with a sandwich and a bottle of water. But it’s an investment for the future, I think.”

© Tom Hyland
| Federico Scarzello is a strong supporter of tourism in Barolo and nearby villages.

Limit the damage

There are currently a number of ideas to find the right solution, including a tax to enter the city centre, but by far the most controversial is the construction of a car park about a kilometer from the city, where tourists can park. their car and then take a shuttle to town. Scarzello expects this space to have a capacity of around 200 to 250 cars; it should be operational in the fall, hopefully by mid-October.

Mascarello is furious with this project, as a small woodlot has been altered for progress. “It’s on the old road to town near Cannubi, which is a very green place for us locals – people who live in Barolo.”

She notes that another plan calls for parking for 100 cars in the village under the Giuseppe Rinaldi estate. “It’s on the road to go to the forest of La Fava, near the village,” she explains. “The problem of cars in the forests is very terrible; this administration has no sensitivity to green, to trees. At a time when the whole world is planting trees, we are talking about European money to be invested in the ecological transition. we are increasingly destroying the ground to build parking lots. There are more and more people, but that’s not our vision; this is not the good future for our villages. Also, it’s amazing that as we are a UNESCO site, two parking lots are being built – I don’t understand that.”

For Scarzello, the new parking lots are necessary.

“We have to organize the logistics for the tourists, and for example, the parking lot is a project to organize the logistics, not just in Barolo, because the parking lot project is not just for Barolo; of course, it’s on the territory of Barolo, and we have to manage it.

“But it is a project between the different villages of the Barolo region, because there is even a project to build a line with electric buses between the different villages. But you know if there are no parking lots , how will you use the buses?

“We don’t have a train station, we don’t have a seaport, so you have to get to the Langhe by car. Then, for us to push the cars up the hills, we have to find places in the valley where you can leave your car, then we have to organize a service to drive people to the different villages.”

faded charm

As specific solutions are debated among producers, local residents and officials, one person who organizes personalized small-group cultural and heritage tours in Barolo and elsewhere in Italy sees the problem of too many tourists from a wider. Vail, Colorado-area resident Suzanne Hoffman, who has written two books about the area and led her first Barolo tour in 2017, recently held her eleventh Piedmont tour in June this year, is become unnerved by how tourism has changed the landscape of Barolo.

“I started seeing changes long before Covid hit, maybe as early as 2016,” says Hoffman. “I decided in November 2021 to no longer take guests to the village of Barolo, opting instead for the quieter option of Serralunga.”

Hoffman says his reasoning is not just due to the increase in tourist numbers, but also to Barolo’s loss of authenticity in recent years. “I’m sad that the village has lost its character and charm and has been overrun with wine shops galore. Above all, I’m sad for the elderly people who can no longer drive into town just to grab a drink. coffee and reading the paper with friends.The culture of the village – as a Langhe village – has changed drastically and instead of slowing the changes following the Covid closures it has accelerated, even since November.

Hoffman believes that if a recession like 2008 hits the region, “what then will it be like for Barolo and La Morra with their plethora of wine shops and restaurants? I want to see the region prosper, but in a sustainable and true to their culture and heritage.”

Sandro Minella, a local wine guide, shares his observation on this subject. “I can only see that tourist activity is really taking over village life, and it will happen more and more, because the process is not reversible. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, it probably depends on the point of view, but I see a contrast between the strategy of “premiumization” of Barolo and Langhe wines and mass tourism.

“And I see it becoming more and more difficult to communicate authenticity on the one hand, while transforming the landscape with great tourist infrastructure on the other.”

Courtney adds one final thought. “With careful thought, good marketing and promotion, the right people can make Barolo the best it has ever been, as well as pave the way for the growth of sustainable tourism throughout the region.”