Tourism in Asti

PARKS AND PATHS

For those who love nature, we would like to remind that Migliandolo is surrounded by the Parks of Asti province, including Paleontological Reserve of Valleandona and Valle Botto, the Natural Park of Rocchetta Tanaro and Val Sarmassa. (www.parchiastigiani.it)
The reserve Valleandona and Valle Botto protect an important heritage of fossils dating back to the Pliocene. Geological and paleontological routes are accessible with a guide, naturalistic ones are accessible to all on foot, by mountain bike (bike tours link) and riding a horse.
For lovers of trekking and Mountain Trials Bike cycling there is an important network of recently structured paths called “Walking on Terre d’Aleramo”, about 350 km that wanders to the north of the province of Asti and whose GPS tracks can be downloaded from the following sites: www.astiturismo.it and www.movimentolento.it.

CASTLES AND CULTURE

The great fertility of the land and the strategic geographical position at the crossroads of the communication ways between the Ligurian Sea, the Po Plain and the Alps, made Monferrato a rich and disputed region since the times of the ancient Rome.
In the Middle Ages a remarkable number of castles was built, and most of them are still standing on top of the hills of Monferrato. This fact made this area to be the place with the highest number of castles in Europe. In the sixteenth century the autonomy of the marquisate ceased and it became the possessions of the House of Savoy.
Asti, an ancient Hasta Statielle, had its first urban settlements in the Neolithic period near the Varroni hill, it became a colony of the Ligurian Statielli , then belonged to the Celtic tribes and in the end to Roman Hasta Pompeia, rising to the rank of Municipium in the first century BC. In the Middle Ages Asti reached its maximum splendour becoming in fact a European capital compared to Venice, Antwerp or Bruges.
The bankers of Asti from their Casane (fortified residential quarters equipped with powerful towers within the city walls) financed the kings, popes and emperors in all Europe. What remains today are the important and beautiful residential and religious buildings of medieval remains that are worth at least a day of a thorough sightseeing.

SPECIALTIES OF OUR LAND

Asti cuisine gives its best from mid-September to late December, when you can taste the famous white truffle of Asti and the famous “Bagna Cauda”, anyhow it is very rich throughout the year.
The famous appetizers of Asti such as minced raw beef, tartrà, cooked salami, insalata russa (mixed cooked vegetables diced with mayonnaise), stuffed baked peppers and veal in tuna sauce are emblems of Asti gastronomy. Excellent first courses as agnolotti Gobbi Astigiani (Piedmonts stuffed pasta), the Taiarin or risotti cooked with Barbera wine delight the palates of the sophisticated experts around the world. Some of the protagonist of the traditional second meat dishes are bollito misto (boiled meat served with home made sauce), la finanziera and delicious fritto misto (mixed fried food, meat, fruit, amaretto etc.). The meal can be concluded with delicious Zabaione (a delicate, liquid custard made from eggs and wine), on nut cakes, Bunet (a traditional chocolate pudding from Piedmont, flavoured with amaretti and coffee), soft Nougat of Asti.
In this gastronomic context the producers, almost all family-run companies, are famous for pork salted meat, vegetables, precious products put into jars, honey, bread and homemade cakes. The quality level is very high and at the same time the restaurants, often of international renown, are excellent value for money.

WINE

The main product of Monferrato of Asti is wine, from the important Barbera to the delicious Grignolino to conclude with the fragrant Moscati and Asti Spumante, the aged grappas or fine wines flavoured with cinchona bark drank as digestive and meditation wines.
Today the image of Asti is identified with Barbera, but many others DOC and DOCG wines are strongly represented in the area, and one of these is Grignolino, which over the last century has lost its original importance, but currently in the world of wine enthusiasts and niche experts it is rapidly regaining its position.
For the pleasure of its guests and to allow them to carry with them a bit of Monferrato charm, Antica Casa Nebiolo may suggest excellent producers of local products, wine cellars and restaurants.

THE ROMANESQUE CHURCHES

We suggest a visit to Romanesque churches, which are the primary artistic and cultural heritage of Monferrato of Asti, and they are unique in terms of size and artistic quality.
The churches are isolated and built on top of the hills, erected in the Middle Ages to give religious and physical comfort to travellers along the route of Via Francigena that led pilgrims and noble Knights Templar from all over Europe to the Holy Sepulchre.
The most famous are San Pietro in Portacomaro, Santa Maria ad Nives in Castell’Alfero, San Nazario and Celso in Montechiaro, San Secondo in Cortazzone, San Lorenzo in Montiglio, Santa Maria de Flexio in Rocchetta Tanaro, to end with the largest, the most majestic and celebrated one: the Abbey of Vezzolano ad Albugnano.

PLACES OF POPE FRANCIS

From the Town Hall square in the medieval town of Portacomaro we can see clearly the farmhouse which Giuseppe Bergoglio and later Francesco, native of Schierano, bought around half of the 1800. Here he settled with his family and among his sons there was Francesco, Pope’s paternal great-grandfather. The place is called Bricco Marmorito and belongs to the parish of St. Bartholomeo in Portacomaro. In the parish church are preserved baptismal certificates of many Pope’s relatives including the one, dated 1884, of Giovanni Bergoglio, one of the sons of Francesco and the grandfather of the Holy Father. The beginning of the twentieth century brought hard times and many Piedmontese chose to leave their land to seek their fortune in the new world. Giovanni Bergoglio found a job in the railways, he left his father’s house in 1906 and settled first in Turin, where his son Mario was born in 1908 (the father of the future Pope) and then in Asti from 1918 to 1929, when he decided to join some relatives in Argentina. Seven years later, in 1936, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires, destined to become Father Francis. From this land originated the deep roots of the Pope who will represent a turning point for the Catholic Church.