Monferrato and Piana Casalese

The Monferrato and Piana Casalese area is composed of the hillsides of central Monferrato that progressively descend eastwards towards the Po River.
The portion of the plain on the right banks of the Po with the Casalese rice paddies, is the landscape element that shows a distinct inconsistency with the hills in the background.

Particularly interesting from the naturalistic point of view is the protected area system of the fluvial strip of the Po River, and especially the two extensive Nature Reserves of Ghiaia Grande, on the Confluence of the Sesia and Grana rivers.

As to the farming aspect, the hillsides are dedicated to a historically renowned viticulture activity with the ongoing cultivation of an indigenous vine variety (Ruchè), and the grignolino and barbera grapes, and of the malvasia cultivar on the Casorzo hillsides.
In the plain of the Po, the widespread single crop cultivation of rice prevails.

The general characteristics of the settlements in the hills and those in proximity with the Po River differ greatly from one another. In the first case, the towns are built on the highlands or crests, and it was only in the 19th and 20th centuries, with the progressive spreading of the railway network, that the first commercial settlements appeared in the valley floor and became the location for the collection of farming and viticulture products.
In the Casalese plain, the towns have evident colonisation features – and according to the periods in which they were built, take on the preset founding matrix or that of scattered villages, at times built around a castle which owned the extensive estates oftentimes assigned to cereal farming (the introduction of rice cultivation traces back to the 19th century).

Privileged points of observation identified in the PAYS.DOC “ Good practices for the landscape” created by a virtual observatory of the Mediterranean landscape.