The best gravel rides around Spigno Monferrato

Ecclesiastical building maintained in excellent condition

Trekking track.

Monastero Bormida is a charming Italian medieval village located in the province of Asti, in Piedmont, nestled in the picturesque landscapes of the Langa Astigiana. The village was founded around the year 1050, when a group of Benedictine monks was called by Marquis Aleramo to clear and repopulate the lands devastated by Saracen raids.

Roccaverano is a charming and authentic Italian municipality located in the province of Asti, in Piedmont. With an altitude of about 800 meters, it rises on the hill that divides the Bormida valleys and is the highest inhabited center in the entire Asti area. This picturesque medieval village is internationally famous for two main reasons: its rich historical heritage and the production of the renowned Robiola di Roccaverano DOP.

Roccaverano is a charming and authentic Italian municipality located in the province of Asti, in Piedmont. At about 800 meters above sea level, it stands on the hill that divides the Bormida valleys and is the highest inhabited center in the entire Asti region. This picturesque medieval village is internationally famous for two main reasons: its rich historical heritage and the production of the renowned Robiola di Roccaverano DOP

Olmo Gentile is located in Piedmont, in the province of Asti. Location information It stands at an altitude of 615 meters on the hills of Alte Langhe (Langa Astigiana), an area famous for its landscapes and hazelnut groves, close to the border with Liguria.

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".

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.