San Damiano d'Asti: sights, history and trails

Located 15 km from the provincial capital (Asti), 45 km from the regional one (Turin) and 50 km from Cuneo, the municipality of San Damiano d'Asti is a town in the upper Monferrato, almost in the center of the Alfieri Hills, a territory made up of the extreme edges of the Langhe and the Monferrato.

The village stretches on a low hill (the highest point reaches 339 meters) on the left side of the Borbore stream and consists of three large villages developed around the historical center: Borgo Rondò north-east towards Asti, Borgo Piano west and Borgo San Rocco south. Among the vineyards of the surrounding hills are scattered the numerous farmhouses and hamlets of the village.

• Water courses: stream Borbore, rio Valmaggiore, rio Maggiore, rio Coasso, rio Blesio, rio Cravina, rio di Priocca, rio Sghiarotta.
• Seismic classification: zone 4 (irrelevant earthquake), Ordinance PCM n. 3274 of 20 March 2003, updated on 16 January 2006^[4].
• Climate classification: E (the Grades day of the city are 2,632 and the maximum limit allowed for heating is 14 hours daily, from 15 October to 15 April), DPR n. 412 of 26 August 1993^[4].

In 1275, during the conflict between the Republic of Genoa and Charles of Anjou, the astesani They conquered and razed the castles of Gorzano, Castelnuovo, Lavezzole and Marcellengo in the Borbore valley; in the surroundings they founded a new village where they were forced to live the villagers of destroyed villages. The settlement took the name of San Damiano from a pre-existing church dedicated to that saint and since then remained faithful to the municipality of Asti.^[5]

From the middle of the fourteenth century, San Damiano was annexed to the monferrini states of which he followed the alternating events in the wars with the Visconti of Milan, the principles of Savoia-Acaia and the so-called "wars of preponderance" between Spain and France. The Treaty of Cherasco of 7 April 1631 and the subsequent treatise of Mirafiori (1632) assigned San Damiano d'Asti to Casa Savoia that infeudated you the Marquis of San Martino d'Agliè, which followed the Aleramic Counts Carlevaris (their residence is the current Palazzo Comunale). Since then the history of San Damiano d'Asti coincided with that of the kingdom of Sardinia before and the Kingdom of Italy then. San Damiano d'Asti is also the home of the noble family Roberti of Castelvero.

The old town reflects the original Sancti Damiani Oppidum, the villa nova built in 1275-1276 by the Genoese Oberto Spinola, then Captain of the People of Asti, as a Roman military camp. It has the typical orthogonal mesh centered on the Contrada Maestra (current via Roma), intersected at regular distance from ten smaller districts, and closed on the four sides by the walls (which are preserved almost intact on the eastern side) with as many defensive banks (the current Magardienta, Solferino, Montebello and Palestro balus, become tree-lined avenues with lime trees and platani), towers.

The villa nova had only two doors of access: Porta Sottéra, towards Asti, and Porta Sovéra to the opposite head, towards Alba. In the fifteenth century, the castle and fortifications of Porta Sottéra were reused by transforming them into the parish church of Santi Cosma e Damiano and its bell tower (inside there is a circular wooden choir from the fourteenth century).

The hills of the area, cultivated with orchards, meadows and vineyards, are the main economic factor of the country, mainly devoted to agriculture and renowned for the production of grapes (barbera, bonarda and freisa), fruit (peas, apples and peaches), vegetables (cardo, celery and pepper), honey, truffles, for livestock breeding (cappone di San Damiano d'Asti, Piedmontese cattle, olive grove. There are also small and medium-sized textile, metal and food industries.

Between 1882 and 1935 San Damiano d'Asti was served by the Asti-Canale tramway.

The current railway station, located along the Turin-Genoa line, is located a few kilometers from the centre, in the Asti area of Vaglierano Basso. It was built to serve the former municipality of Vaglierano but, after its suppression, it took on its current name.

• Provincial Roads

San Damiano d'Asti is connected to the municipality of Asti through the Provincial Road 58.

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

It is based in the municipality the football company A.S.D. Spartak San Damiano, who plays in the First Category 2021-2022 football championship^[12]. The company was founded in 1992 by the union of two rival teams from two hamlets of San Damiano d'Asti.

• Monica Agnoletti, The Sanamianese festivities: the Palio of the villages, degree thesis, University of Turin, faculty of foreign languages and literatures, tourism sciences, academic year 2006-2007. Available for consultation online online.
• Happy Daneo, The town of San Damiano d'Asti: historical and statistical news, Turin, Derossi, 1888.
• Christmas Iron (carefully), The ancient chroniclers Ogerio Alfieri, Guglielmo Ventura and Secondino Ventura. According to the text of "Monumenta historiae patriae" volume 5, Scriptores tomo 3, Alessandria, Edizioni dell'Orso, 1990.