Province CN
Cherasco, CN
A town on a plateau where the Tanaro and Stura meet, laid out on a Roman-style grid of straight streets rather than the winding plan of most Piedmontese hill towns. It has a dense concentration of baroque palaces and two peace treaties signed in them. It is also the national centre of snail farming and the home of a chocolate, the bacio di Cherasco.
Sights
- Palazzo Salmatoris of 1620, where Napoleon lodged in 1796 and imposed the armistice known as the Pace di Cherasco, now an exhibition space
- Castello dei Visconti, the 14th-century square castle at the end of the main axis
- Arco del Belvedere of 1647, the triumphal arch at the edge of the plateau, with a view over the river plain
- Santuario della Madonna del Popolo, completed in 1702
- The 18th-century synagogue, from the Jewish community that lived here from the 16th century into the early 1900s
- Museo Civico Giovanni Battista Adriani, town archaeology and history
Things to do
- Come for one of the antiques markets, when the whole historic centre goes pedestrian and fills with dealers
- Eat lumache, snails, prepared locally, Cherasco is the seat of the international snail-farming institute
- Buy baci di Cherasco, hazelnut and chocolate, from the pasticceria that created them in 1881
- Walk the straight main street from the castle to the Arco del Belvedere
Annual events
March, May, September, October and December
Mercato dell'Antiquariato e del Collezionismo
A long-running antiques and collectors' market held on five Sundays a year, past its 130th edition.
When to visit
One of the market Sundays, ideally September or October when the weather holds and the town is busiest.
