Asti

A short half hour train ride away is the small city of Asti. It may be familiar as a wine growing region -both their red wines including Barbera D’Asti as well as their sparkling wines like Asti Spumante. After reading a bit about it, it seemed like an interesting place to visit and pretty easy to reach. I am not sure I was fully prepared for the treasures it offered.

The historical centre is charming, even more so with all of the local neighbourhood flags flying – this is Palio season – a horse race where each neighbourhood is represented. It’s fiercely competitive for bragging rights.

Their tourism department is well organized, offering the ability to visit seven different attractions all on the same scannable ticket. It included roman ruins, two palazzos, as well as access to one of the towers.

Seems like I am overdue for climbing an old dizzying staircase…

Next up was the Chiesa de San Martino – I walked in and was stopped in my tracks with some of the most beautiful frescoes.

After taking in the main church, they then showed me their equally impressive precepe – the nativity. Forget the Christmas village, these folks have full on cities.

Usually this is the part where I say I had a great day and hop on the train back to my apartment. Except earlier that day I had been to another phenomenal church, one that even made San Martino pale in comparison. The Cathedral of Asti was truly spectacular.

There were some restoration works going on but in my mind that was a good thing as it allowed me to go and take endless photos without feeling like I was disturbing the silence and serenity these churches often have. Truly, I am not sure I have seen a church with such stunning frescoes covering just about every corner. Look for the tiny little human figures in the exterior shots to get a sense of its size.

Now I was ready to head home on the train…and prepared to raise a glass of sparkling Asti wine to this amazing city and marvel at how for 75,000 inhabitants they could have such treasures.