History in the words of art
The province of Cuneo offers great cultural potential, with its wealth of castles of great historical and artistic significance, the wonderful Savoy residences, churches and cathedrals, stately buildings and the porticos which are a charming feature of many of the old town centres, not to mention chapels, sanctuaries and abbeys, immersed in the silence and green nature of the valley.
In Cuneo it is possible to admire the old town centre with Via Roma running down the centre, the long double row of porticos and the side roads, which reveal a host of wonderful architectural features. Moving on to Saluzzo, a town with a typical Medieval plan, we can admire its low houses, and narrow streets leading up to the Castle, definitely one of the most fascinating towns of Piedmont with its elegant stately buildings such as Casa Cavassa and the wonderful church of St. Giovanni containing fine works of art. Further artistic treasures are the Manta castle and the Abbey complex of Staffarda.
The Castle of the Acaja, is a good example of the fortified buildings of the period, and symbolic of the town of Fossano itself, the town also preserving other interesting monuments and buildings such as its Cathedral. The Langhe and Roero areas are not only renowned for their wine but for their artistic heritage, the hillsides being dominated by fortifications dating back to various historic eras, and commissioned by the local lords, the influence of the local aristocracy of the period is also particularly strong in Alba, which still preserves its typical Medieval imprint with the central square in which the famous Donkey “Palio”(competition) still takes place and which is characterized by its hundred towers which constituted the ancient and aristocratic town. Mondovì Piazza also preserves its ancient origins, it was a university town in the 16th century, with the imposing sanctuary of Vicoforte nearby, featuring the largest elliptic dome in the world.
The town of Savigliano is instead representative of 17th century artistic heritage, with masterpieces of European importance, held inside its stately buildings such as those of Taffini d’Acceglio and Muratori Cravetta. While Racconigi is renowned for its superb Savoy castle, which features a host of decorative details and fine furnishings, a highly representative example of the 19th century stylistic trends of all the leading European courts.