Asti - Main Sights

Main Sights

Some sections of the ancient city walls remain on the North side of the city and in the late 20th century building work uncovered a section of Roman wall in the center of the city.

The area to the NW of the city, between the centre and the Cathedral, is very rich in medieval palaces and merchants houses, many with monumental towers. Asti was known as the city of 100 towers (although there were 120 in total) of which several still remain today within the old city walls. The most known are the Tower of the Comentini (13th century), the octagonal Torre de Regibus and Torre Troyana (13th century), as well as the ancient Rossa di San Secondo, built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus.

Asti is the home to several old churches. These include:

• the great Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta (built in the 13th century over another Cathedral), one of the biggest in Piedmont, in Romanesque-Gothic style. The monumental belfry is from 1266. the façade is characterized by three portals, each surmounted by a big rose-window. The interior, with a nave and two aisles, houses a wide cycle of 18th century frescoes, some altarpieces by Gandolfino d'Asti and precious silver artworks from the 15th-16th centuries. The presbytery has a noteworthy mosaic floor, from the pre-existing church. next to the last pilasters of the nave are two 14th century artworks, the funerary seal of bishop Baldracco Malabaila and the equestrian portrait of Arricino Moneta.
• the Collegiata di San Secondo (13th century) in the old medieval centre next to the Palazzo Civico. Its name refers to Secundus of Asti, the city's patron saint. The crypt is from the 6th century. The façade has three notable Gothic portals, while the interior houses a polyptych by Gandolfino d'Asti and other works.
• Santa Maria Nuova (11th century).
• San Martino, first mentioned in 886. The old Gothic edifice was dismantled in 1696 and rebuilt along Baroque lines in 1736.
• Sant'Anastasio (8th-12th century), whose museum has some antique capitals and sculptures.
• the Baroque church of St. Catherine.
• the Baptistery of St. Peter (12th century) is the most important building from the High Middle Ages in the city. It has octagonal plan with a wide dome.
• San Pietro in Consavia (15th century), with elegant external decorations. It the seat of the Archaeological Museum, with Roman and Egyptian works.

There is a Synagogue and a museum depicting the history of Asti's Jewish community whose presence is documented since 812.