Holiday apartment in Asti: art, history and Piedmontese culture

Holiday apartment in Asti amid art and history

A stay in Asti brings together art, architectural history and urban tradition. Palazzo Mazzetti bears the name of the Mazzetti family and is a Baroque palace; it houses Asti’s municipal art gallery and displays collections of 19th- and 20th-century paintings and sculptures. The Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta is the largest cathedral in Piedmont. Frescoes and paintings by Astigian artists such as Gandolfino da Roreto and Guglielmo Caccia can be seen there. Between 1309 and 1354, it was rebuilt on the foundations of the former Romanesque cathedral. Palazzo Mazzola is a rare example of Renaissance architecture in Asti. The art collections and the two palazzi belong to different periods in Asti’s urban history.

From fossils to the Roman domus

The Museo dei Fossili - Paleontologico displays Pliocene remains of whales and dolphins and explains the most important geological and paleontological events that shaped the Asti area. The Balena di San Marzotto d’Asti is considered a unique specimen worldwide. The Domus Romana preserves the remains of a patrician house from the 1st century AD; access is via the Smarticket. The range of cultural topics therefore extends from the history of the Earth to Roman times.

Religious buildings with distinctive details

The Museo e Cripta di Sant’Anastasio comprises an 11th-century Romanesque crypt with three small naves and groin vaults. At the Museo Diocesano San Giovanni, you can see a Gothic wooden choir stall by Baldino da Surso dating from 1477. Its crypt contains four reused Roman columns, three of which are made of Egyptian red porphyry. The Santuario Diocesano della Beata Vergine del Portone incorporates the medieval city gate of San Giuliano. Its side garden contains a copy of the Grotto of Lourdes created in 1930.

Palio, routes and orientation

The Museo del Palio offers an exhibition tour about the Palio horse race, which also conveys the history of the city of Asti. Anyone wishing to explore Asti on foot can complete the Itinerario Asti Medievale in two days. The two-day duration of the Itinerario Asti Medievale gives the tour a fixed timeframe for personal day planning. For orientation, Asti’s tourist information office is located in Piazza Alfieri opposite a large car park. This allows cultural visits and a tour through the city’s history to be given different levels of emphasis.

Landscape and regional cuisine

Outside the city of Asti lies the UNESCO-listed landscape of the hills of Monferrato Astigiano, covered in vineyards. Its location outside the city spatially separates this landscape from the museums, churches and palaces in the city centre. At the Festival delle Sagre, each participating Pro Loco association offers a typical menu at its stand. When you choose a holiday apartment in Asti, you can therefore tailor your stay to your own interests, balancing museums, religious buildings, the two-day walking route, landscapes and regional culinary culture.

Other places for planning your trip

Other places you can consider for planning your trip include Vigliano D'asti, Villa, Canelli, Loazzolo, Cassinasco, Vesime, Pasquana and Roccaverano.

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