The origins of Pope Francis

The experience

Asti is the city of Vittorio Alfieri and is famous throughout the world for its wines and its hundred towers. It is the city of the historic Palio that takes it back to the glorious medieval past between waving flags and trumpet sounds.

An expert guide will take you on a tour of the historic center among the streets, palaces and jewels that this city preserves.

You can admire medieval buildings, towers, churches and picturesque squares, such as Piazza San Secondo, one of the main squares of Asti, dominated by the majestic cathedral of San Secondo.
The centerpiece of the visit will be Palazzo Alfieri, the birthplace of the famous poet, playwright and writer, who was born in Asti on January 16, 1749 and where he lived until the age of five. From Asti he then left to undertake numerous trips around Europe, becoming a protagonist of the cultural, political and literary panorama of the time.

Today, in the halls of the Palace, there is a path that tells the life of the poet through original furnishings from the house where he was born and some objects that testify to his literary activity, travels, passions and his incredible life.

The Palace also houses the headquarters of the Centro di Studi Alfieriani, a center dedicated to the study of the life, works and cultural influence exerted by the great poet from Asti.

The museum also presents costumes, sketches and theatrical documents of the trageda’s works, as well as some relics and curiosities such as a lock of the poet’s hair and other objects of daily use that the Countess of Albany, his beloved, jealously preserved.

There are also some paintings: in the study room, the Portrait of Vittorio Alfieri, donated by the poet to his sister Giulia.

A few kilometers from Asti, among the rolling hills of Monferrato is Portacomaro, the birthplace of Pope Francis.

In 2022, the Pope came to visit Carla, his second cousin. His mother, Ines Bergoglio, was a cousin before Pope Francis’ father, Mario Bergoglio. Carla is originally from Celle but has lived in Turin for a long time. Currently, she lives in Portacomaro, where she returned in 2015. As a young man, he spent summers in Portacomaro and also attended elementary school in the town. After being widowed, she decided to return to Portacomaro, where she had many memories and where she was known by everyone. In Portacomaro, she is the godmother of “The Pope’s Vineyard” dedicated to Pope Francis, who cultivates the vineyards of Grignolino. Carla met her cousin who would become Pope Francis when he was already an adult and wanted to meet the relatives with whom he had remained in contact.

The tradition in Monferrato is encapsulated in the game of the wall tambourine, or tambass in Piedmontese: the games played in the sferisteri, the squares under the ramparts, make this specialty a unique opportunity to discover the history and art of this area. It was not just a simple game but it was a festival that brought together entire villages gathered in the squares under the walls, a game with ancient and proud gestures and full of unmistakable sounds.