When you plan a trip to Italy, the medieval city of Asti is the ultimate destination for good food and wine aficionados. Situated down the valley of Tanaro river on the Monferrato hills, Asti is 55 km east of Turin, in the Piedmont region.

Asti was founded in Roman times and was a very notable trade center during the Middle Ages that nowadays preserves most of its medieval palaces. As in medieval times, Asti is divided in “rioni” (where noble people use to live in the XIII century) and “borghi” (home of the artisans): every year, on the third Sunday of September, citizens from every rione dress in medieval outfits and meet at the Palio after a beautiful medieval pageant. Palio is the bare back horse race held since medieval times in the arena of Campo dei Paoli (now in Piazza Alfieri) that celebrate the battle versus the city of Alba won by asti in 1275.

Asti is rich in monumental towers, churches, and medieval palaces. Asti is known as the “city of hundred towers”: several are still there, as the medieval Torre de Regibus, Torre Troiana and Torre of the Comentini. They were built in the XIII century, as the gothic Cathedral Santa Maria Assunta. In the church there are several XV and XVIII century artworks. Other places of interest are San Martino, a gothic building rebuilt in baroque style in the XVIII century as the church of St. Catherine, the Collegiata di San Secondo (named after the city’s patron saint, San Secondo) and the octagonal Battistero di San Pietro.

For the bravest ones, there is Palazzo Catena, told to be haunted by ghost Iginia (Italian Silvio pellico wrote a tragedy about her disgraceful life), which is not the only ghost in town: relentless countess Adelaide (her ancestor was Arduino d’Ivrea) is also told to haunt the city centre.

Asti displays also several museums, such as the Jewish museum, the Archaelogical Museum (Egyptian and Roman museum) seated in San Pietro in Consavia palace. The museo Alfieriano, dedicated to the great poet Vittorio Alfieri (1749–1803) and the Museo Civico and Pinacoteca are also in the city centre.

Asti is renowned as one of the fines producer of red wines and spumante, in one of the most notable wine districts (the hills of Monferrato) in the world. Here the famous Asti spumante sparkling wine is produced, as long as red wine Barolo and Barbera d’Asti, Dolcetto, Brachetto, Bonarda and Grignolino.