ALBA

Capital of the "Langhe", Alba is an important agricultural and wineproducing area. The historical centre, built to an almost circular plan, still preserves the characteristics of the medieval village, with numerous towers and fortified buildings. The heart of the old town is piazza Risorgimento, where you can visit the Town Hall with its frescoes and paintings dating back to between the 14th and 16th centuries. In the counsel chamber you can admire a table made by Macrino d’Alba dating back to 1501 and a 1647 canvas by Mattia Preti.

The Duomo is dedicated to S. Lorenzo. It was rebuilt in 1496 in the GothicLombard style on the site of an ancient Romanesque church, of which the three portals dating back to the second half of the 11th century have been preserved.. Alterations were carried out between the 16th and 17th centuries and the building underwent extensive restoration between 1867 and 1878. Inside, a canvas by Claudio Francesco Beauomont and a precious carved wooden choir stall dating back to 1512 - 1517, can be seen. The Romanesque belltower has doublemullioned windows.

To the right of the Duomo, via Coppa leads to via Teobaldo Calissano, where you can visit the church of S. Domenico  built in the 13th14th centuries, and altered many times. Some 15th and 16th century frescoes have been preserved. The façade features an impressive splayed doorway. Leaving piazza Risorgimento, we can walk along via Vittorio Emanuele II, the town’s main street; known as the "Via Maestra". The houses lining the street feature ornamental brickwork decorations and 14th and 15th century windows.

Also in via Vittorio Emanuele II, the S. Maria Maddalena church is worth visiting. This church, built on the site of an earlier church, was designed by Antonio Bernardo Vittone in 1749. The brickwork façade was never finished. The interior, built on an elliptic plan, preserves the urn of the Blessed Margherita di Savoia and a Gothic crucifix. Behind the altar is the impressive wooden nun’s choir stall, dating back to late Baroque times. Next to the church, in via Paruzza, is the Civico Museo Archeologico e di Scienze Naturali "Federico Eusebio" which houses an important collection of archaeological findings from the Neolithic age to Roman times, as well as a natural history section.