Albugnano: sights, history and trails

Located in the bottom Monferrato, with the municipal house at 549 meters above sea level, between the Rio Nevissano to the west and the Rio Meisina to the east, spread over an area of ​​950 hectares dominating much of this wine-growing area with its beautiful eighteenth-century manor houses.

It is defined as "Monferrato balcony", both for its altitude and for the stupendous panorama it offers, from which you can admire green forests and vineyards, countless towns and villages as the view is only limited by the mountain range on the horizon, which ranges from the Maritime Alps to the Cottian Alps. The state road runs a short distance away Asti-Chivasso.

The origin of the toponym, attested since 1290, is traced back to the prediale derived from the name Albinius, or Albonius or even Albucius. However the mention of one Vallis Albignana of the 12th century could also suggest an origin of the term from the physical conformation of the whitish colored ground, from Latin Albus.

The hills of Albugnano are rich in fossils that farmers often find during plowing. Following archaeological findings, it appears that these lands were already inhabited at the time of Roman domination, perhaps by the patricians of that great empire, inhabitants of Augusta Taurinorum, who had their villas on these hills. The town was dominated by the Marquises of Monferrato who surrounded it with walls, but it was besieged and conquered by the people of Asti in 1292, and returned to the Monferrato the following year. The fortifications were restored in 1320 and lasted until the 16th century, when they were destroyed by the French by Marshal Brissac. Today no trace remains of these military works.

The history is intertwined with that of the abbey of Vezzolano, almost always the holder of rights over the territory of the municipality, rights gradually passed under the aegis of the feudal families starting with the lords of Brozolo in 1002. Sovereignty over the territory passed to the Savoys starting from the 17th century, being enfeoffed first to the Bensos, then to the Gonteri and finally to the Serras. It later became a fiefdom of the canons of Vezzolano until 1800, the year in which the institution was suppressed by the Napoleonic government.

At the beginning900 In the village of Albugnano, Queen Margherita of Savoia was born, and the street of the historic centre was named.

• The parish church of San Giacomo Maggiore, built in the 15th century, currently has a 19th century façade. Inside there are paintings by Guglielmo Caccia known as Moncalvo and a frontal in scagliola by Solari
• In the direction Berzano di San Pietro, at the crossroads of four streets, in the cemetery enclosure, there is the Romanesque church of San Pietro, anciently defined of fenestrella. Built towards the end of the 11th century and renovated over the various decades until today, it was formerly the parish church of Albugnano and remained so until the 16th century. Subsequently it was managed by the friars. The apse, almost intact, is divided into three fields, each equipped with a small arched window, separated by two thin columns decorated with capitals; the upper part is decorated with wicker weaves with bifurcated ribbons, under which there is a series of hanging arches whose corbels are all decorated
• At the highest point of the town stands the square of the Tower, today Belvedere Motta, so called due to the ancient presence of a tower that belonged to the castle conquered in 1401 by the Gascon mercenaries, in the service of the Prince of Achaia, who proceeded with its definitive dismantling while what still remained of the tower was definitively destroyed in 1861.
  On this esplanade shaded by some cedars, located at 553 m above sea level. (highest point in the municipal area and in all the surrounding hills as well as the Monferrato) you can enjoy an extraordinary 270 degree panorama of the Monferrato landscape. On the clearest days, with the help of the wind rose table, the main mountains of the Alps can be distinguished
• The Belvedere coincides with the Remembrance Park whose memorial stones honor the fallen soldiers of Albugna during the two world wars; the remains of the famous man are also present here "cobbler's elm", a centuries-old tree dear to Don Bosco, which grew from 1727 until 1980

Below is a table relating to the administrations that have succeeded one another in this municipality.

Albugnano inaugurated on 25 April 2025, on a municipal initiative, the «Viale of the Civil Heroes^[9]». It is a botanical area with 11 apple trees and 11 cherry trees on which 22 names of Italians (already awarded^[10] from the Presidency of the Republic) who have distinguished themselves^[11] in gestures of great courage for the community.

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  Santa Maria di Vezzolano Romanesque-Gothic Abbey
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  Romanesque church of San Pietro - Facade
• 
  Romanesque church of San Pietro - Apse

Panorama

• AA.VV., The Piemonte Country by Country, Bonechi Florence, 1993
• E. Marchisio, Vezzolano and Albugnano, Notes on history and legend. Buttigliera d'Asti 1988
• Dante Olivieri, Dictionary of Piedmontese toponymy, Brescia 1965