The restaurant Trattoria da Franca is part of a project called “Bistrò di paese” (the village Bistrò). What does that mean? It refers to a cosy and charming place that everybody will love, both young and old people. The courageous Alcotra-Tourval project for the small hill and mountain villages, where the risk of isolation is high, was created in cooperation with the French regions that are at the border with Piedmont). The project proposes a multi-purpose local reality with a strong social role for both residents and visitors. The bistrò has many functions: it is a shop, a small restaurant, a showcase to taste and buy local products, a meeting point for visitors and a centre for the promotion of the territory giving tourist information and Internet access. This brave project started in France and is now developing on the hills of Cebano- Monregalese and Alta Langa areas.
It provides further opportunities and greater visibility for the small towns that are so crucial for the survival of the territory and at the same time, it offers the ‘slow’ life-styles that tourists increasingly appreciate.
