The Tanaro River is the main affluent of the Po River, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the Tanaro-Po is the longest river in Italy. The Tanaro divides the Langhe (on its hydrographic right) from the Roero (on its left), in fact it contributed to the formation of their hills. Actually, the fascinating phenomenon of the “capture of the Tanaro”, which occurred at least 80,000 years ago, changed the course of the river and its affluents and redesigned the profile of the territory, provides a contribute to the spectacular geological phenomena such as the “Rocche del Roero” or the majestic “Calanchi di Clavesana”. Near Verduno the sparkling Crystal Beach, with its large crystalline chalks, reminds us that at the end of the Miocene the closing of the Strait of Gibraltar and the Evaporitic crisis almost drove the Mediterranean Sea dry, more than five million years ago.
