"Thanks we met." With this phrase, a small circle of friends recalled, on the tenth anniversary of the death, Romano Levi, the "angelic grappaiolo", known worldwide for its grappas, distilled with the direct fire alembic, made unique by the labels hand drawn. In the main hall of the School of White Art, we met those who had known Romano and his sister Lidia and who, after their disappearance, worked to ensure that the work and memory of the Levi were not lost.

 

The anniversary was the occasion for Roberto Cerrato, director of the Center for studies on the cultural landscape of the Langhe, to hand over to the current owners of the distillery, Luigi Schiappapietra and Lucio Scaratti, the plate "The places of memory and tradition of the vineyards". The recognition, sponsored by the Association for the wine-producing landscapes of Langhe-Roero, wants to reiterate that the culture and the history of the territory continue to live in the memory of those figures who helped to write the story.

 

Today we found ourselves, to remember the man, before the grappaiolo and the artist. Personally I have never met Levi, but I had the opportunity to know him through what I read and the stories of those who knew him. A man who has had great respect for the female world, nature and animals, "said Scaratti. The journalist Beppe Orsini recalled some of his famous utterances. Asked if he felt more like an artist or a poet, Levi replied: "I am just a grappaiolo", and he stated that his best collection was handshakes. "It is our intention to restructure the house of Romano and Lidia, to make it accessible and transform it into a real museum", concluded Schiappapietra.