In the territory of Monferrato we can find the regional reserve of the Val Sarmassa that extends over 200 hectares, along the ridge that divides the Val Tiglione (valley) from the Val Marzano (valley).
The environment has been able to maintain its ancient characteristics over the years. For the writer Davide Lajolo it was "his nest", his "green sea". He loved to walk along the paths in the lands where he was born, listening to the breath of the black locust and chestnut trees, the chirping of the cicadas, and he also loved to linger in front of the majestic "Ru": the ancient oak, the pride of the reserve, which is also remembered in his writings.
An ancient legend of 1630, inspired Lajolo’s sad story of Clelia and Ariosto, two young lovers who, to escape the cholera epidemic, climbed the great oak Ru.
