The Locanda del Sant?Uffizio is a charming hotel deep in the heart of the Monferrato district, a hilly region long famous for its wine and food, with gastronomic traditions that reflect the true spirit of Piedmont. The seventeenth century structure, an ancient monastic centre, and later stronghold of the Inquisition, is still quite austere, retaining in its wide spaces the silence of its ancient origins. The Locanda looks out onto a airy Italianate garden, a splash of Mediterranean colour where the warm air is thick with the scent of lilies, dog roses and geraniums; and, climbing up the main façade, a magnificent ancient plant casts shade over the tables, arranged among the lemon and orange trees in their great pots.