Rainero Hotel

Fontana dell'aquedotto da Materno Giribaldi

by JLBG

On a square in the old city, the monument called Fontana dell'aquedotto (fountain of the aqueduct) was erected on October 18th 1908 to commemorate the new aqueduct that brought enough drinkable water to the growing city.

The sculptor was Materno Giribaldi (Giribaldi, not Garibaldi) a local sculptor (1870-1951) that carved many monuments in the city and in the cemetery before he emigrated to Brasil in 1925, where he made also many other sculptures.

The city Hall

by JLBG

The city Hall stands close to the city market, not far from Corso Vittorio Alfieri. It is a 19th (or ealy 20th) century building with only a few carvings. On top, a medallion with the initial CR (I do not know what does it mean) framed by two sat ladies.

Juventus

by TRimer

The Italians are fanatical about their football- called caldo. The local team out of Torino is Juventus. See them at Stadio Delle Alpi in Torino. The games are not shown live on TV. You need to have cable (pay) to see them. They broadcast the matches but only show celebrities watching the game and announcing the goals.

Palazzo Comunale

by Jetgirly

This building was donated to the city in 1558 by Emanuele Filiberto, the Savoy duke who made nearby Torino the permanent Piemontese capital. Inside the main doors there are changing civic exhibits highlighting the changes and upgrades being made around the city.

Asti

by TRimer

"Una chiamata con la mia sorella"

My sister, Judi, lives in Asti, formerly with her beloved dog, Mop, who passed away in October. She is an actress and currently runs the office of a language school and translation center in Alessandria, a neighboring town. I had some free time at the beginning of 2003 so I decided to go visit her. Piedmont in February is quite cold. Still I got to see the city and some of the beautiful countryside. Her boyfriend, Max, took me one day out to see a cantina. Piedmont and especially Asti is know for its wonderful wines. You should see how many bottles I carried back on the plane.

"Short History"

An ancient town which has been an important centre for over a thousand years owing to its particular geographic position at the centre of the wide plains of the River Tanaro. It became a provincial capital again only in 1935 when it regained its role of leading town which historically belongs to it. Already during the Neolithic Age it was a dwelling place for the prehistoric population. Its territory expands widely to include a remarkable number of hamlets and villages situated at a considerable distance from the town itself and which used to be autonomous communes in the past. Asti was almost certainly populated by people of Ligurian tribe of the Statielli from whom the place name of Aste or Ast (hill) derives. It used to be thought that the name derived from Hasta Pompeia, the name attributed to the town around 130 a.C. during the Roman Empire and ratified by the Roman citizens in 49 a.C. Hasta in Latin indicates a pole which was planted into the ground to indicate one's property after acquisition. In 1095 Asti was one of the first "free communes" in Italy and in 1140 it was awarded the privilege of coin minting. The town greatly developed during the Middle Ages, owing to the growth of economical activities and thanks to the initiatives of the local bankers, who travelled afar and controlled business transactions throughout Europe. The historical town centre, certainly one of the best looked after in Piedmont, still maintains many relics of notable architectural interest. A large number of the one hundred or so towers still stand as evidence of the dwelling places and strongholds of the more influential aristocratic families which competed against each other to continually enrich their homes. This competition lasted for centuries from the Renaissance period to the Baroque period.