Asti is often forgotten by most travelers who come to Piemonte, however, the glorious past of this town comes back to life walking down the medieval streets of the town centre. Proclaimed an independent city-state in 1095, due to its strategic commercial position, Asti became powerful to the point to mint its own coins, accepted and exchanged all over Europe.
Our walking tour begins in the square where every September the oldest horse race of Italy, called Palio, is run. We continue through the Jewish ghetto, spotting towers and baroque churches. The imposing Cathedral is the largest gothic building in Piemonte and it boasts a collection of paintings by the local artist Gandolfino da Roreto, the first in town to complete works of art influenced by the Renaissance.
Asti offers a wide range of museums and archeological sites to be combined with our tour: among others, we mention the fascinating 8th century crypt of Saint Anastasio, the fossil museum hosting the full skeleton of whales and dolphins found outside town and a number of Romanesque churches scattered in the surrounding countryside.