Province AT
Canelli, AT
A wine town in the Asti hills built on sparkling wine: the modern Italian spumante industry effectively started here, and the large houses still cut kilometres of tunnels into the hillside beneath the streets. Those cellars, the underground cathedrals, were part of the 2014 UNESCO listing of the Piedmont vineyard landscape. Above ground the town climbs from the Belbo river to a hilltop castle.
Sights
- The Cattedrali Sotterranee, tunnel cellars beneath the town holding millions of bottles at a steady 12 to 14 degrees, UNESCO listed in 2014
- Castello Gancia, an 11th-century defensive site destroyed in 1617 and rebuilt as a villa in 1930, still owned by the Vallarino Gancia family
- Chiesa di San Leonardo, a medieval foundation rebuilt 1682 to 1694
- Chiesa di San Rocco, 1727 to 1740, stone built, with a curved pediment
- The Sternia, the old stepped lane climbing from the lower town to the castle
Things to do
- Book a cellar visit, the tunnels are the reason to come and cannot be seen from the street
- Drink Moscato d'Asti or Asti spumante where it is made
- Walk the Sternia up to the castle for the view over the Belbo valley
- Look for local truffles in autumn
Annual events
June
Assedio di Canelli
A large-scale reenactment of the 1613 siege, with costumed participants, cannon fire, period market stalls and a wine-cart race. First staged in 1992, it lapsed for several years and returned in 2026.
November
Fiera del Tartufo and Antica Fiera di San Martino
A truffle fair alongside a long-established general fair with around 150 stalls in the centre.
When to visit
June for the siege reenactment, or November for truffles and the San Martino fair.
