Cherasco (Piedmont): what to see


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What to see in Cherasco, itinerary including the main monuments and places of interest, including Palazzo Salmatoris, Visconteo Castle, Church of San Pietro and Museo Adriani.


Tourist information

Town of the Langhe in Piedmont, Cherasco stands on a plateau above the confluence of the Stura di Demonte in the Tanaro.

Its foundation dates back to 12 November 1243, when the vicar of Emperor Frederick II, Manfredo Lancia, and the mayor of Alba, Sarlo Drua, defined the place where the new city would arise, near the pre-existing Roman village, perhaps of origin. Ligurian, named Clarascum.


The town with a quadrilateral plan is crossed by wide perpendicular streets flanked by remarkable arcaded buildings, as well as by numerous civil and religious buildings, from the period between the medieval period and the Baroque period.

Subject to the Angevins between 1260 and 1348, Cherasco was occupied by the Visconti who built the castle, which still exists today and, in 1389, became part of the dowry of Valentina, daughter of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, who married Luigi d ' Orléans, brother of the King of France.

It was subsequently disputed between the French and Piedmontese, until in the sixteenth century, Cherasco definitively passed to the Savoy dynasty, becoming one of the landmarks.


In 1631, Vittorio Amedeo I and his wife Cristina of France found refuge there because of the plague epidemic that spread over the territory.

During the seventeenth century a period of development and well-being began for the city, as evidenced by the elegant buildings, the churches, the city walls, the famous starry walls, still partially present.

In 1706, during the siege of Turin, the Savoy court took refuge again in Cherasco, bringing with it the Holy Shroud, which was placed in Palazzo Salmatoris, in the room of silence frescoed by Sebastiano Taricco.


In this building, international delegations were hosted in 1631 for the signing of the peace which decreed the end of the war of Succession of Mantua and Monferrato.

Furthermore, in 1796 the armistice between France and Vittorio Emanuele III was signed here, which sanctioned the surrender of the Savoy State to Napoleon's army.

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What see

Today Palazzo Salmatoris is an important cultural and artistic center, home to art exhibitions and reviews.

In Via Cavour there is the Church of San Martino built between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in Romanesque forms, then remodeled in the nineteenth century.

Continuing on the majestic Viale dei Platani you reach the Visconti Castle of the fourteenth century, with a quadrilateral shape and crenellated towers, restored by Alfredo d'Andrade in the late 1800s.

San Pietro, which is the oldest church in the town, was built in Romanesque style between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, largely using material recovered from the Castle and the Church of Manzano, located to the right of the Tanaro river.

Despite the alterations made in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the building has maintained a splendid Romanesque facade.

In 1702 the construction of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo was completed, built in Baroque style on a design by Sebastiano Taricco and characterized by a two-tiered terracotta facade and an interior richly decorated with stucco.

Palazzo Gotti di Salerano houses the Adriani Civic Museum, dedicated to the historian who at the end of the nineteenth century donated his collections to the Municipality.


The exhibition includes areas relating to archeology, collections of medals, seals, numismatics and paintings made between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries.

Today Cherasco is famous for the antiques markets, which take place under the arcades of the ancient buildings, for the art exhibitions set up at Palazzo Salmatoris and for the important specialization achieved in the heliciculture sector, i.e. snail breeding .

Baci di Cherasco, irregularly shaped chocolates based on dark chocolate and Piedmont hazelnuts, are typical products of this beautiful Piedmontese town.

Cherasco, Piedmont, Italy, Jussi Björling 1911–1960, Tanti's Serenade, Pagliacci, Ruggiero Leoncaval (March 2024)


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