Calliano

Discover Calliano

Calliano is a hill municipality in the province of Asti, Piedmont, a hill municipality in the province of Asti and spread across roughly 17.44 square kilometres at an elevation of 258 metres above sea level. Positioned on a ridge separating the Valle Versa from the Valle Grana, it sits north of Asti and forms part of both the Comunità collinare Monferrato Valleversa and the Associazione dei Comuni del Monferrato. Since July 2022 it has carried the official name Calliano Monferrato, adopted unanimously by the town council following a proposal by assessor Vittoria Poggio.

Visitors researching Calliano village in Trentino-South Tyrol should note that this Calliano is an entirely distinct place: it belongs to the Monferrato heartland of Piedmont, a landscape of rolling vineyards planted with Barbera and Grignolino, where medieval churches, a sulfurous spring known as La Pirenta, and a lively calendar of local festivals — including the annual Palio degli asini in October — give the village a character firmly rooted in the Asti hills.

Calliano Monferrato: history, symbols and identity

Calliano is a Monferrato hill village in the province of Asti, Piedmont, whose recorded architectural heritage reaches back at least to the tenth century, when the church of San Michele was built, followed in the eleventh century by the Romanesque church of San Pietro, and later by the eighteenth-century parish church of the Santissimo Nome di Maria.

A notable chapter in the village’s cultural life unfolded during the 1980s, when the local parish ran a small television station called Tele Comunità Calliano (CTC). The channel produced a considerable amount of original local content, but was forced off air on 31 July 1990, just before the Mammì broadcasting law of 6 August 1990 came into force — legislation that required every private broadcaster to operate as a commercial enterprise, effectively ending the existence of non-commercial community stations. The station’s director, Rev. Luigi Venesia, publicly explained the reasons for the closure during the final broadcast.

Churches, a Sulphur Spring and a Pallone Court: Calliano’s Built Heritage

Calliano has three churches of historical note, a sulphur spring with a long reputation for therapeutic properties, and a civic pallone court that doubles as the arena for the town’s annual donkey race.

Chiesa di San Michele

Dating from the tenth century, this is the oldest religious building on Calliano’s territory. The sources record its age without further architectural detail.

Chiesa romanica di San Pietro

Built in the eleventh century, San Pietro is Romanesque in character and stands as the most architecturally defined of the three churches the village preserves.

Chiesa parrocchiale del Santissimo Nome di Maria

The parish church dates from the eighteenth century and contains a number of paintings described in the sources as noteworthy, though their authors and subjects are not recorded there.

La Pirenta

A sulphur spring known locally as La Pirenta, long regarded for its curative and purifying qualities.

Sferisterio comunale

The municipal pallone court — commonly referred to as the Piazza del Palio — serves as the venue for the annual Paglio ragliante donkey race, with the surrounding space used for the procession of flag-throwers that precedes the contest.

Calliano and Its Territory: Donkey Agnolotti, Barbera, and the Flavours of Monferrato

Calliano’s most distinctive culinary identity centres on the donkey — the same animal that stars in the town’s famous Palio — transformed into agnolotti d’asino, a local variation of the classic Piedmontese stuffed pasta filled with pure donkey meat. This singular dish takes centre stage at the Sagra dell’Agnolotto d’Asino held each June, while late August brings another community gathering around the Sagra dello Stufato. Both events reflect a living food culture tied directly to local traditions rather than tourist invention.

The hills surrounding Calliano are planted with barbera and grignolino vines, placing the village within some of Piedmont’s most celebrated wine territories. Bottles carrying the Barbera d’Asti DOCG and Barbera del Monferrato DOCG labels are among the wines associated with this stretch of the Monferrato. The sparkling Asti DOCG and the delicate Brachetto d’Acqui / Acqui DOCG are also produced across the wider provincial area.

From the broader Asti province and Piedmont region, visitors can encounter protected products such as Robiola di Roccaverano DOP, Nocciola Piemonte IGP, and Grana Padano DOP, alongside traditional preparations like Vermouth, Ratafià, and Rosolio — though none of these are exclusive to Calliano itself.

Planning your visit and getting there

Calliano can be reached easily from the lower Val Pellice and the Turin area. The practical distances and journey times below are kept concise on purpose, so the access information stays clear and consistent.

Departure	Distance	Time
Asti	approx. 15 km	approx. 20 min
Turin (city centre)
Alessandria	approx. 40 km	approx. 35 min

These practical reference points are enough to plan the journey without overloading the text with unstable logistics. Once on site, the village is best understood slowly, on foot and in relation to the surrounding landscape.