The best gravel rides around Calamandrana

The Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Cassinasco is one of the main Marian places of worship in the town, often also referred to by variants such as Madonna delle Grazie or Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie.

The Castle of Monastero Bormida was not originally built as a defensive structure but as a Benedictine monastery, founded around 1050 by monks from the Abbey of Fruttuaria, called by the Aleramici Marquises to reclaim the lands devastated by Saracen raids. The 27-meter tower still visible today was originally the bell tower, and the river flowing a few meters from the southern tower confirms the non-military nature of the building. In 1393, the Benedictines abandoned the monastery, and its feudal history began: the fief passed to the Del Carretto marquises, who in the 15th century added the first defensive structures, transforming it into a castle. The building is a quadrangular structure with an internal courtyard, protected by towers on multiple sides and connected to the former bell tower by a small suspension bridge. On the south facade, there is a two-arched Renaissance loggia with a small stone column. Inside, the rooms on the main floor—transformed in the 17th century—feature mosaic floors and sail and cross vaults with frescoes of floral and geometric motifs. The castle later passed to the Della Rovere family and subsequently to the Genoese Polleri family, finally becoming the property of the Municipality starting in 1880. Today it is open to visitors and is part of the regional circuit "Castelli Aperti".

+5 The cycle path between Canelli and Nizza Monferrato is an easy and scenic route of about 12-13 km, ideal for families, connecting the two towns in the Asti province via Calamandrana. The track, developed on a protected and asphalted surface, crosses the hills of Barbera and Moscato, offering an immersion into the UNESCO wine landscape.

Rocchetta Palafea, in the province of Asti, is an ancient medieval village founded as a military garrison in the Belbo Valley, with documented origins dating back to around 960. Dominated by its characteristic quadrangular tower and surrounded by ancient walls, the town was an Aleramic fiefdom and then a Genoese one, preserving a historic atmosphere linked to its past as a fortress.

Castelnuovo Calcea, located in the heart of the Monferrato Astigiano, has ancient origins linked to the Ligurian Statielli, Celts, and Gauls, before Roman colonization (Castrum Novum ad Calcea). The medieval village, known for its castle, destroyed several times starting in 1155, was a fiefdom of the Marquises of Incisa, the Trotti family, and finally the Savoy family in 1735.

Mombercelli, located in the Asti area in Val Tiglione.

Truly a delightful little village.

The ROMANESQUE BRIDGE dates back to the 14th century. Through the characteristic Vicolo del Droc—where one of the city gates once stood and where the entrance to an ancient oven can still be seen—you reach the Romanesque bridge over the Bormida River, still in use. It represents one of the most interesting works of medieval civil engineering in the valley, and its counterpart, in Spigno, is the similar bridge at the Abbey of San Quintino. Both were built by Benedictine monks. It is a massive humpbacked structure with four spans. The Monastero bridge was the only one passable year-round from the lower valley: Acqui did not have one.