Monferrato versus Tuscany: Infernot and Caves, Two Underground Worlds ComparedWhen a “cave” in Tuscany immediately reminded me of Monferrato

di Simona Gotta - Monfreedom Guide During a trip to Tuscany, I visited Pitigliano, one of those villages that seems to rise directly from the rock. The houses cling to the cliff, the narrow streets wind through the historic centre, and beneath many buildings there are rooms carved into tuff.

In a small shop where I had bought a few souvenirs, the owner invited me to go downstairs and see what she proudly called her “cave.” Beneath the shop was an underground room carved into the tuff, cool even in summer, with a constant temperature of around 14°C.

She explained that, in the past, many of these underground spaces were connected or formed part of a wider network. In Pitigliano, rooms dug into the rock were used for many different purposes: cellars, storage areas, workspaces and, in the Jewish quarter, even spaces used for making kosher wine, baking unleavened bread and for ritual bathing.

As I listened, however, my thoughts went immediately to Monferrato.

As a passionate hiking guide, I could not simply admire the place without making the connection. I began telling her that in our region, too, there is an underground world hidden beneath private homes. Not carved into the volcanic tuff of Pitigliano, but into our own local stone. I told her about the Infernot, their niches, shelves, bottle racks and hand-carved details, and how this extraordinary heritage contributed to Monferrato becoming part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.

By the end of our conversation, that woman had decided she wanted to come and visit Monferrato.

For a guide, moments like that matter. Starting from a small Tuscan cave and sparking someone’s curiosity about your own land is deeply rewarding.

Tuff and Monferrato stone are not the same

Pietra da Cantoni stone

At first glance, the comparison between the caves of Pitigliano and the Infernot is immediate. In both cases, we are dealing with underground spaces created beneath homes or inside rock walls, capable of maintaining fairly stable temperatures throughout the year.

Geologically, however, they belong to two very different worlds.

The tuff on which Pitigliano stands is volcanic in origin. It is relatively soft and easy to excavate, especially when it retains moisture. This characteristic allowed generations of inhabitants to carve rooms, passageways, cellars and shelters directly into the cliff.

The stone found in the Monferrato Infernot has a completely different origin. The famous pietra da cantoni comes from sediments deposited in an ancient subtropical sea during the Miocene period. It is rich in carbonate material and fossils and is particularly widespread in the Casalese area of Lower Monferrato.

This is something I always like to explain clearly during our walks: Infernot are not simply “holes dug into tuff.” They are spaces carved into a different type of rock, one that carries the geological memory of an ancient sea.

When you step into an Infernot, you are entering a piece of landscape history that began millions of years ago.

An Infernot is much more than a cellar

An Infernot was usually the most protected and hidden room within a domestic storage system. It was often reached by passing through a traditional cellar and descending further until you entered a small windowless chamber carved directly into the stone.

Its stable temperature, constant humidity, absence of light and lack of draughts made it ideal for storing the family’s best bottles.

But what strikes visitors most is their individuality.

Some Infernot are simple and austere. Others have carefully shaped steps, bottle niches, benches, shelves, stone tables and decorative details carved into the rock. Some consist of a single room, while others include corridors or several connected chambers.

They were not designed by famous architects. They were created by farmers, stoneworkers and families who understood the material and adapted it to their own needs.

That is what makes them so authentic. Every Infernot belongs to a particular house, a particular family and a particular pair of hands.

The UNESCO heritage and what is often left unexplained

infernot

In 2014, the Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. One of its official components is known as “The Monferrato of the Infernot.”

This UNESCO core area includes nine municipalities in the Casalese area: Camagna Monferrato, Cella Monte, Frassinello Monferrato, Olivola, Ottiglio, Ozzano Monferrato, Rosignano Monferrato, Sala Monferrato and Vignale Monferrato.

It is important to explain this correctly: not every village with Infernot is automatically part of the UNESCO core zone. However, the culture of underground spaces carved into local stone extends beyond those administrative boundaries and can be found in other parts of Monferrato as well.

Some Infernot are public and can be visited according to set opening times. Others are still privately owned. These are not usually accessible without prior arrangement, but they may open during local events, special weekends or guided visits.

As Monfreedom Guides, when we plan routes through villages that preserve this heritage, we sometimes arrange for private Infernot to be opened especially for our groups. This makes the experience much more meaningful. You are not entering an anonymous tourist attraction. You are being welcomed into a private piece of family and local history.

Fubine Monferrato: a village with dozens of Infernot

One of the villages that best represents this underground culture is Fubine Monferrato.

More than fifty Infernot have been recorded in the village, making it one of the places with the highest concentration in the area.

In Fubine, the geology is slightly different. The underground rooms are carved into sandy and silty layers that are often informally called “tuff,” although they are not the same volcanic tuff found in Pitigliano. Even so, the ground remains easy enough to work and creates cool, stable conditions underground.

Walking through Fubine means moving through two landscapes at once.

Above ground, you cross a long village built along a ridge, overlooking the Tanaro plain. Beneath the houses, however, lies a hidden network of cellars and stone chambers.

The village skyline is dominated by the neo-Gothic bell tower of the Church of Santa Maria Assunta. At 56 metres high, it is considered locally to be the tallest bell tower in Monferrato and has become one of the symbols of Fubine.

The Spalti: not just a panoramic terrace, but part of the old defences

Another feature worth discovering in Fubine is the area known as the Spalti.

The name may sound unusual to visitors, but it comes from medieval defensive architecture.

The Spalti are what remains of the old fortified perimeter of the village. They follow the edge of the historic centre, from the arcaded area beneath Casa Pane towards the Church of the Battuti.

In the past, this elevated strip formed part of the defensive system protecting the settlement, which occupied a commanding position along the ridge.

Such structures allowed inhabitants to monitor the surrounding land, move along the fortifications and defend the village from a strategically favourable position. A ditch once ran below the walls, while access to the fortified centre was provided by a bridge that may originally have been made of wood and could be destroyed in case of attack.

Today, the Spalti form a panoramic terrace.

But when we walk there, I like to explain that the view is only part of the story. The real interest lies in understanding why the village was built in that position, how the walls controlled the plain below and how the bridge, ditch and ridge all formed part of one defensive system.

A landscape becomes far more interesting when you learn how to read its function.

From the surface to the underground: the most complete way to understand a village

Fubine is one of those places where a hike can become a truly layered experience.

You walk across the hills, enter the village, look up at the bell tower, follow the traces of the old fortifications, walk along the Spalti and then descend underground.

First, you read the landscape from above. Then you enter its material.

This is how we love to guide people through Monferrato: not simply by pointing out what is beautiful, but by explaining why a village stands exactly where it does, why it was fortified, what kind of stone lies beneath the houses and how the geology influenced everyday life.

My experience in Pitigliano reminded me of something important. Every territory has developed its own relationship with the underground.

In Tuscany, volcanic tuff gave rise to caves, cellars and entire systems carved into the rock. In Monferrato, local stone and workable soils made the creation of Infernot possible.

The difference does not reduce the value of one or the other. On the contrary, it makes the comparison even more fascinating.

But there is one thought that has stayed with me since that day: many people travel across Italy in search of underground wonders without realising that beneath the houses of our Monferrato villages lies an extraordinary and unique heritage.

And sometimes, all it takes is a guide who tells the story with passion for someone to decide to come and discover it.