Ecomuseo delle Rocche del Roero, Ecomuseum and tourism office in Montà, Italy.

The Ecomuseo delle Rocche del Roero is an open-air museum spread across eight hilltop municipalities in the province of Cuneo: Cisterna d'Asti, Montà, Santo Stefano Roero, Montaldo Roero, Monteu Roero, Baldissero d'Alba, Sommariva Perno and Pocapaglia. These villages grew up after the year 1000 along the Rocche del Roero, an erosion fault line cutting through the central Roero. The information office is in Montà.

The area's unity dates to the 10th century, when an emperor granted the bishop of Asti the five pievi of the zone and the adjoining forest belt, the nemus cellar, giving him jurisdiction over much of today's Roero. Between the 12th and 13th centuries Asti expanded and imposed its men in the castles. From the 11th century lords built castles on the high ground, creating the summit villages ringed by the Rocche, used as a defensive moat. Around 1880 the name Roero replaced Astisio, after the Asti family that held most castles.

The network connects places where wine, truffles, and honey are made, showing how these products have been part of daily life for generations. You see traces of this work throughout the region, from vineyards to beehives.

The Ecomuseum headquarters in Montà handles information and the tourist side of the network; start there before walking the themed trails. Eight summit municipalities are linked by paths, among them the Sentiero dell'Apicoltura, del Tartufo, del Castagno and del Lupo at Montà, and the Sentiero dei Fossili and della Castagna Granda at Monteu Roero. The routes cross sandy Rocche terrain and vineyards, so ask at Montà about the state of the individual trails.

The terrain hosts remarkably different environments over short distances, where dry and humid microclimates exist side by side and support specialized plant species. This geological diversity makes each section of the walking routes feel like a different landscape.