Saturday October 15 was another warm day with a mix of sun and cloud. High of 23C.
We started our day by checking out the Saturday market in Alba. The market stretches out along the main streets and squares of the historic town centre. Stalls are set up from 6:30 a.m. and the market wraps up just after 1:00 p.m. There are about 200 vendors of which 60 are food sellers. The market includes the main street Via Vittorio Emanuele II, another long street and two other main Piazzas in the centre of the historic town. In two other Piazzas at the far end of the historic centre there are two urban sheds, originally conceived for livestock exhibition that are used for the food market.
Via Vittorio Emanuele II and via Cavour had only clothing stalls. These were the streets we walked up yesterday, checking out some of the lovely food and clothing stores. Today the streets were packed. The clothes were not of interest to us-- we wanted to get to the food part of the market.
Heading up Via Vittorio Emanuele II.
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Walking by the Pasticceria where Nutella was created
Lots of people on the narrow street |
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| Huge crowds of locals and people from surrounding towns come in for the market |
We then got to Piazza Pertinence where there were a small number of food stalls set up. This Piazza is home to the Mercato della Terra, a display of traditional and local food purveyors. This part of the market is supported by Slow Food and is exclusively for artisanal food purveyors and farmers selected within a radius of 50 km. We got some nice vegetables here.
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| Alonso in the Piazza-- nice orange coverings |
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| Honey |
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| Piemonte hazelnuts |
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| This Piazza was quite manageable |
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| Pumpkins |
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| We passed this new structure---- we really don't get the hay... |
Then we got to the covered market, which we had seen yesterday. Here are the yesterday and today pictures.
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| All quiet on Friday- parking lot (picture taken yesterday) |
Saturday picture:
Lots of people shopping-- fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, cheese and baked goods.
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| Lots of fruit and veg |
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| Cheese |
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| Garlic anyone |
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| Basil and flowers |
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| Typical Piemontesi products-- sausages |
On the way back to the apartment we walked through Piazza Risorgimento, where the Tourism Office and San Lorenzo Cathedral are located.
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| Another structure in the Piazza Risorgimento |
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| Kegs of wine too -- we think this may be for the Truffle festival, but are not sure |
We dropped the vegetables back at the apartment and headed out to catch the 11:03 bus from Alba to Asti. The bus leaves in front of the train station and one buys a ticket on board. We are only about a six minute walk from the train station. The bus was not crowded and it is a 55 minute ride to get to Asti, with a few stops along the way. Just 30 km between the two cities.
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| Passing vineyards |
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Countryside en route (through the bus window)
We got to Asti just before noon. Asti has a population of about 76,000 and is the capital of the province of Asti. It has been inhabited since the Neolithic period. Asti became a Roman encampment sometime around 124 BC and then an economic and political powerhouse in the Middle Ages. Today, the city is best known for its exceptional food, the sparkling wines Asti Spumante and Moscato d'Asti and for the Palio di Asti-a bareback horse race through town that takes place every September. The Palio was first staged in 1273. Asti has been nicknamed "the city of 100 towers", though only 15 towers survive.
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| Asti flags |
There was a huge clothes market that takes place in Piazza Campo del Palio. We did not venture into this scene.
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| A look down at the huge clothes market in Piazza Campo del Palio |
However, we did go into the Mercato building which is the food market building
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| Mercato building |
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| Lots of food stalls |
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| Quite a large indoor food market |
We went to Piazza Secondo which houses the Palazzo Civico, Asti's Town Hall, built on the site of a pre-existing medieval building. It was renovated by Benedetto Alfieri in the baroque style that remains today. The other building was the Collegiata di San Secondo which is a Collegiate Church dating from the 13th/14th centuries with a 15th century facade.
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| Palazzo Civico on the left and Collegiata di San Secondo on the right |
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| More flags on pedestrian streets |
We stopped at the synagogue and a museum depicting the history of Asti's Jewish community, whose presence has been documented since 1812. The present day building was erected on the site of the original synagogue from the 1830s. It was renovated in 1889, financed by brothers Jacob and Leonetto Ottolenghi and it is located on Via Ottolenghi. There was an iron gate that I took the picture through. The place looked very closed and there was no signage about possible visits.
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| Outside of the Synagogue |
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| Plaque on a side wall inside the iron gate in front of the synagogue |
We walked on to Piazza di San Martino and passed the Chiesa di San Martino which was built in the 18th century with a bell tower that dates back to the 14th century.
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| Chiesa di San Martino |
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| Inside the church |
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| More flags and tower in the distance |
We peaked into the Civic Museum (Palazzo Mazzetti-Pinacoteca Civica), but decided it was too nice for a museum visit. However, we noticed that the Museum had a lovely restaurant in its garden behind the museum. We decided to have lunch there along with a number of local families out for Saturday lunch
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| When in Asti... |
We shared a lovely salad with tuna, local cheese, eggs, tomatoes, and cucumber and an antipasto Piemontese with tuna, tomatoes, olives and pickled onions served in a small dish.
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| Alonso with lunch. I liked the rosemary on top of the antipasto |
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Very yummy
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After lunch we explored some more. We walked to Piazza Roma and saw the Torre Comentina (Comentina Tower), the second highest tower in Asti. For centuries, it was called Torre di San Bernardino, the name of the Church that had been adjacent to it and to which it served as a bell tower. This church was destroyed in 1887 to make room for Palazzo Medici del Vascello. a neo-Gothic style structure that still exists today. It houses commercial activities.
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| Piazza Roma with tower, Palazzo, and statue |
There was a commemorative monument to the Risorgimento, designed and built by the banker and philanthropist Leonetto Ottolenghi (1829-1904), who then donated it to the city. The female figure is Italy offering a laurel wreath to the obelisk, a funerary symbol used to commemorate the Risorgimento.
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| Monument in Piazza Roma |
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| Commercial building and tower |
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| We peered inside the building but could not go any further |
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There was a plaque to commemorate Leonetto Ottolenghi's contribution to the monument,
that was placed at the site in 1899 |
Next we stopped at the Torre Troiana (Troyana Tower), which was built in the second half of the 13th century and is Asti's tallest.
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| An interesting building across the square from the Tower |
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| Torre Troiana with a swallow on its top. It is over 39 metres tall. |
It was time for a coffee. I had noticed this Nonlatteria (no dairy) coffee shop earlier. They had some non dairy popsicles, which I did not want, but there was also very good coffee served.
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| Outside of the store |
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Interesting measuring glass for my espresso
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| Barista at work |
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| Fruits and vegetables and pomegranate juice beside the Collegiata di San Secondo |
Our final stop was the patio of Bar Lo Stregatto. We got there just before 5:00 p.m. Just like clockwork, the time for coffee is ending and people are ordering aperitivos.
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| Entrance to the Bar with a few tables immediately outside |
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| Inside the bar-- most people were in the patio section |
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Patio section (pic taken just after we left)
Asti (also known as Asti Spumante) is a sparkling white Italian wine that is produced throughout southeastern Piedmont, but is particularly focused around the towns of Asti and Alba. Since 1993, the wine has been classified as a Denomination di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG).
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| When in Asti--- have some Asti (Spumante) |
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| Campari Spritz-- very popular in Piedmont |
We caught the 6: 03 bus back to Alba. There were fewer buses on Saturday and there were no busses between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. The bus was not very crowded. We passed through some very pretty towns and countryside at dusk.
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| Countryside from the bus |
We arrived back at the Train Station in Alba at about 7:00 p.m. It is only a six minute walk to our apartment. We passed by the start of Via Vittorio Emanuele II--- now full of people out on for their Saturday night walks.
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| Lots of folks out for their early Saturday evening walks |
We went back to the apartment and Alonso prepared a pasta dinner with the tajarin (thin egg ribbons) pasta and sugo ai funghi porcini we bought yesterday with some added tomatoes. We had some green beans and salad as well.
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| Alonso (aka Psycho Bunny tonight) with dinner |
A tiring, but fun day exploring Asti. Sunday October 16 will be our last full day in Alba and we'll be going to the International White Truffle Festival. We then head to Genoa on Monday.
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