Car Hire Asti - Mini guide to Asti

Asti is a city and municipality is the region of Piedmont, in the province of Asti. It is also the capital of Asti, and is located on the Tanaro River. Asti has been inhabited since the Neolithic period (about 10 000 BC), and was one of the first free communes of Italy, being allowed to mint their own coins in 1140. Burnt to the ground by Frederick Barbarossa in 1155, Asti signed up to the Lombard League against Barbarossa, and became involved in many wars and battles, and some minor skirmishes over the years.

Excavation in the late 1900s revealed some of the old Roman city walls in the centre of the new city, and there exists many old homes and buildings in the north-western areas of the city. Also, of the original 120 towers some still remain, so a trip around the city is guaranteed to avail the tourist of many historic sites.

Asti is also home to many old churches, including one of the largest in Piedmont, the ‘Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta’, built on top of another cathedral in the 1200s. Many aspects of the church are noteworthy, among them the belfry from 1266 and some frescoes from the 1700s inside.

In September is held the Palio d’Asti, a bareback horse race that is the eldest one in Italy and taking place in the Piazza Alfieri. Just prior to the race is a medieval pageant, and a week before the horserace is the Festival Delle Sagri, where local food and wine is on display. Asti is perhaps most famous for its Asti Spumante, made just to the south of Asti, from the Moscato Bianco grape.

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