Two days dedicated to tradition, internationality and sustainability with the Conference in memory of Luciano Degiacomi and the 323rd Chapter of Tulips
Two days packed with content, including culture, identity and international openness animated the Castle of Grinzane Cavour, on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 April.
The weekend opened on Saturday 12 April, with the Conference in memory of Luciano Degiacomi on the thirtieth anniversary of his death: a central figure in the history of the Order of the Knights of the Truffle and the Wines of Alba of which he was the Founder and first Grand Master, and in the valorization of the Langhe territory. In the Hall of Masks of the Castle, introduced by the Grand Master of the Order Tomaso Zanoletti and by Antonio Degiacomi, President of the Truffle Study Center, there were speeches by architect Luisa Bocchietto, professor Alfredo Vizzini of the University of Turin and journalist Fabio Gibellino, who outlined a profile of Degiacomi’s cultural and environmental commitment. Among the speakers was also the President of Banca d’Alba Tino Cornaglia who remembered Luciano Degiacomi as a person to whom this territory owes a lot for three reasons: “For what he did, for how much he did and above all for how he did it!”. The conclusions of the conference were entrusted to the Councilor for Culture and Tourism of the Municipality of Alba, Caterina Pasini.
On Sunday 13 April, again in the historic Hall of Masks of the Castle, the 323rd Tulip Chapter took place, a solemn and symbolic event that brought together Knights and guests for a day of tradition, culture and reflection in the presence of 21 Knights of the Delegation of the Netherlands who paid homage to the Castle with 300 white and red tulips to symbolize the friendship that binds the Netherlands to the city of Alba.
The Investiture ceremony, always a highly anticipated moment, enriched the brotherhood with four new Knights and concluded with the nomination of the Prefect of Cuneo Mariano Savastano as Honorary Knight. The focal point of the event was the handover between the outgoing Master of the Delegation of the Netherlands, Willem Hokken, and the new Master, Wouter Butzelaar, who received the baton with emotion and a spirit of continuity.
The cultural part of the Chapter was entrusted to Trifulao Carlo Marenda who, accompanied by his hunting companion, the dog Tato, shared with those present a passionate reflection on the impact of climate change on the White Truffle of Alba, underlining the importance of environmental protection. “The first references to the truffle are found in the writings of Pliny the Elder in ancient Rome, where the idea was handed down that the precious mushroom was born from the combined action of water, heat and lightning – recalled Marenda -. But it was the Turin doctor Vittorio Picco (erroneously always called Pico), in 1788, who defined the prized White Truffle Tuber Magnatum, or ‘truffle of the powerful’ from which the botanical name Tuber Magnatum Pico derives”.
“The Piedmontese white truffle has always been considered the most prized, but only in the 1900s did the Alba White Truffle gain worldwide fame, thanks to the brilliant promotional work carried out by Giacomo Morra. But the truffle is not only this, it is also an indicator of biodiversity, an ecological sentinel – added the trifulau -: where we find truffles the environment is healthy. In recent years, due to the lack of rain and irregular temperatures in keeping with the seasons, we have seen a decline in white truffle production. We all have the task of protecting the truffle ecosystem, preserving the truffle grounds. If we want to avoid the disappearance of the Alba White Truffle we must protect the woods, stop polluting the streams and plant new truffle-producing plants.”
At the end of the Chapter, the Grand Master of the Order, Tomaso Zanoletti, underlined the profound meaning of this intense weekend:
“Two very important days because they gave us the opportunity to reflect on the past of the Order of Knights and of our territory and on its future. A past that, as we heard during the Conference, was important thanks to the figure of Luciano Degiacomi who with his foresight paved the way for change and the valorization of the Langhe. And a present that sees an Order of Knights increasingly international and aimed at promotion beyond the Italian borders. But this must not make us forget the authenticity, the importance and the value of our traditions and therefore I invite the new Knights to become promoters, but also ambassadors of traditions and ancient values of our land such as the desire to do, the spirit of solidarity and the stubbornness to face new challenges.”
The Chapter concluded with a lunch at the Castle restaurant, created by chef Alessandro Mecca, who proposed a menu paired with the wines selected as part of the 49th Selection of the Order.
The double event reaffirmed once again the centrality of the Order of the Knights of the Truffle and the Wines of Alba in the promotion of the Langhe, Monferrato and Roero, contributing in a concrete way to the protection of the local cultural roots and the diffusion of their prestige at an international level and the identity and cultural value of the Castle of Grinzane Cavour as a symbolic place of the Piedmontese food and wine tradition and of the reflection on the future of its excellence.
The next appointment is set for Saturday, May 24, with the 324th Chapter of the Tradition, during which the Knights will welcome some representatives of the New York Delegation and 35 delegates from bacchanalian brotherhoods from all over the world, participants in the Wine Discovery Tour organized by the Cavalieri del Tartufo in collaboration with Langhe Experience and with the patronage of the FICB – International Federation of Bacchic Brotherhoods.
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