San Damiano d'Asti

At 15 km North of Asti and at 45 km South of Turin, in the’Alto Monferrato, in the heart of Alfieri Hills, a territory formed by the ends of the flaps Langhe, of Monferrato and the Roero.
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The village developed on a low Hill on the left side of the stream Borbore and consists of three major villages developed around the old town: Rondo village Northeast (towards Asti), Plan West Village and South-Borgo San Rocco. Among the vineyards the surrounding hills are scattered numerous hamlets and localities of the country.
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In the middle ages, the territory of San Damiano was part of the great municipality “Consortium” of Astixio To The Ground, that also had jurisdiction over the castles, with its villages, di Castelnuovo, Gorzano, Lavezzole and Marcellengo. The first belonged to feudal lords among them relatives such as Garreti and the Barrachi, the last (Today Torrazzo) He was the Bishop of Asti and then of the Benedictines.

Between the 12th and 13th centuries the rivalry with Asti, Astixio to the ground led to an alliance with Alba and, in 1258, with Charles of Anjou and Provence was extending its domain in Piedmont. The conflict ended in 1274, After the expulsion of the Angevins from Piedmont and the victory of Asti of Roccavione.

Astixio to the ground was destroyed and its castles leveled. In its place the Asti founded (1275) a villa nova in the territory “friend” of Marcellengo by the inhabitants of the villages merged. The new city, typical geometric system built on the Roman camp, He took the name of San Damiano from a pre-existing church dedicated to that Saint and since then remained always faithful to the commune of Asti.

From the mid-fourteenth century San Damiano was annexed the Monferrato area of States followed the ups and downs in the wars with the Visconti of Milan, the Princes of Achaea and the so-called “wars of preponderance” between Spain and France. The Treaty of Cherasco of 7 April 1631 and the subsequent Treaty of Mirafiori (1632) San Damiano d'Asti awarded home Savoia who endowed the marchesi di San Martino d'aglie, followed the aleramici Carlevaris counts accounts (their residence is the current Municipal Palace).

Since then, the history of San Damiano d'Asti coincided with that of the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Kingdom of Italy then.

The historical centre reflects the original Sancti Damiani Oppidum, the villa nova released 1275-1276 by genovese Oberto Spinola, then Capitano del Popolo in Asti, as a Roman military camp. Has the typical orthogonal mesh focused on Contrada Maestra (current via Roma), distance through regular ten contrade minors and closed on four sides by walls with as many defensive embankments (the present-day baluardi Magenta, Solferino, Montebello and Palestro, become a pleasant tree-lined avenues to lime and plane trees), towers and a castle. The villa nova had only two access doors: Sottéra Port, towards Asti, and Sovéra the head opposite Port, towards Dawn.

In the 15th century, the Castle and the fortifications were reused Sottéra port transforming them into Parish Church of Saints Cosmas and Damian in the’ square in front of no via Roma. The imposing Baroque façade is divided into two orders from a string course ground that encloses a central fi-shaped window. The 15th century re-sale the choir, the oldest part of the building that, over the centuries, It was restored several times until as-sumere its present appearance, free, Maybe pro-prio to this, architettoni-style unit co.

In the 16th century Various-born della Santissima Annunziata get the nero permission to build their church next to the parish church, so we had to close the original western entrance to open another South. The Confraternity of’ Annunziata the Interior has three naves with six chapels, open almost exclusively northern flank. Note the eighteenth-century Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, frescoed with a sumptuous faux architecture in shades of Red, Green and purple by fratelli Pietro Antonio and Giovanni Pietro Well around the early forties of the twentieth century.

On the main floor of the Town Hall I kept the gallery with decorated walls and ceiling and the Hall, rich in stuccoes and ornaments.

The Church of St. Giuseppe is one of the most beautiful Piedmontese Baroque churches of ' 700. The altar is dominated by the dome and the windshield covered with polychrome tiles. The Bell Tower, as tall as the Church, is where you built the clock tower. Here during Holy week is the distribution of Caritun, the bread of charity.

From piazza Libertà, taking to the street bearing the same name, We arrive at Parish Church of San Vincenzo. Gothic church, It was then renovated in the 17th century and richly decorated at the turn of the century following with stucco cornices commissioned by Archpriest Emanuele Gamon-ne. It has a magnificent seventeenth-century canvas depicting the Christian victory over the Turks. The unmistakable profile of the Bell Tower is a symbol of the city.

About three kilometres from the village, along the provincial road to Villanova, is located in the homonymous village and the small Church of San Giulio. It is a Romanesque Foundation building totally rebuilt in the early nineteenth century, except for the Bell Tower, by the Provost of the Cathedral of Asti, that was up in Prebend San Giulio. The facade was inspired by the style “German” the Duo-mo, revealing, by the customer, a personal taste, more than ever, nato update. The Interior, Although simple and be rather recent furnishings will be essential, preserves a work of art really uni-ca Asti: the precious marble statue of the Madonna with the Bambi-no arms maybe carried out, According to stu-recent, in the late 13th century and early 14th century chapel of the Blessed Virgin of the Cathedral of Asti.