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50-835: The name comes from the Roero family of bankers and traders, who were prominent in the political life of Asti and its environs, and who dominated this area for a number of centuries during the Middle Ages . The designated zone of production for the DOCG wines Roero and Roero Arneis is a subset of this territory which comprises the communes of Castellinaldo , Canale , Corneliano d’Alba , Piobesi d’Alba and Vezza d’Alba , plus parts of Baldissero d'Alba , Castagnito , Guarene , Govone , Magliano Alfieri , Montà , Monteu Roero , Pocapaglia , Priocca , Santa Vittoria d'Alba , Santo Stefano Roero and Sommariva Perno . The territory lies to

100-658: A bare-back horse race. This event recalls a victory in battle versus the rival city Alba , during the Middle Ages after the victorious battle a race was held around Alba's walls, and from then on every year in Asti. Asti's Palio is the oldest recorded one in Italy, and in modern times is held in the triangular Piazza Alfieri preceded by a medieval pageant through the old town on the 3rd Sunday of September. The three neighbouring Provinces of Asti, Cuneo , and Alessandria incorporate

150-566: A direct subject of the French Crown . The situation changed in the early 16th century, during the wars between Charles V and Francis I of France . In 1526 it was besieged in vain by Charles' condottiero Fabrizio Maramaldo . Three years later, the Treaty of Cambrai assigned Asti to the German emperor, who in turn gave it to the viceroy of Naples. Later the city was included in the dowry that

200-454: A recent survey. On the other hand, the same survey showed Piedmontese is still spoken by over half the population, alongside Italian. Authoritative sources confirm this result, putting the figure between 2 million and 3 million speakers out of a population of 4.2 million people. Efforts to make it one of the official languages of the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics were unsuccessful. Piedmontese

250-563: A section of Roman wall in the center of the city. The area to the northwest of the city, between the centre and the cathedral, is rich in medieval palaces and merchants' houses, many with monumental towers. Asti was known as the city of 100 towers (although there were 120 in total) of which several still remain, among them, the Tower of the Comentini (13th century), the octagonal Torre de Regibus and Torre Troyana (13th century), as well as

300-476: Is twinned with: Piedmontese language Piedmontese ( English: / ˌ p iː d m ɒ n ˈ t iː z / PEED -mon- TEEZ ; autonym: piemontèis [pjemʊŋˈtɛjz] or lenga piemontèisa ; Italian : piemontese ) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont , a region of Northwest Italy . Although considered by most linguists a separate language , in Italy it

350-583: Is a comune (municipality) of 74,348 inhabitants (1–1–2021) located in the Italian region of Piedmont , about 55 kilometres (34 miles) east of Turin , in the plain of the Tanaro River . It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deemed to be the modern capital of Montferrat . People have lived in and around what is now Asti since the Neolithic period. Before their defeat in 174 BC by

400-475: Is a local truffle festival. The main football club of the town was Asti Calcio F.C. (ex-A.C.D. Asti), which folded in 2017. Another football club, A.S.D. Colline Alfieri Don Bosco (ex-A.C. Celle, from Celle Enomondo ), relocated to the city and was renamed to "A.S.D. Alfieri Asti" in 2017. Since 2019 it was known as A.S.D. Asti . Former futsal league champion, A.S.D. Asti Calcio a 5 is also based in Asti. Asti railway station , opened in 1849, forms part of

450-423: Is divided into three major groups The variants can be detected in the variation of the accent and variation of words. It is sometimes difficult to understand a person that speaks a different Piedmontese from the one you are used to, as the words or accents are not the same. The Eastern Piedmontese group is more phonologically evolved than its western counterpart. The words that in the west end with jt, jd or t in

500-553: Is made solely from the moscato bianco white muscat grape . Other wines include a premium version known as Moscato d'Asti (DOCG) and the red Barbera . The first products from the province of Asti to become known internationally are Martini and Rossi , Gancia and Riccadonna, which made commercial wines like Asti Spumante; red wines such as Barbera d'Asti, Freisa d'Asti, Grignolino d'Asti, Bonarda , Grignolino and Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato are also becoming widespread worldwide. These wines and many others can be sampled during

550-581: Is often mistakenly regarded as an Italian dialect . It is linguistically included in the Gallo-Italic languages group of Northern Italy (with Lombard , Emilian , Ligurian and Romagnol ), which would make it part of the wider western group of Romance languages , which also includes French , Arpitan , Occitan , and Catalan . It is spoken in the core of Piedmont , in northwestern Liguria (near Savona ), and in Lombardy (some municipalities in

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600-651: Is pronounced separately, /ˈya/ . Some of the characteristics of the Piedmontese language are: Piedmontese has a number of varieties that may vary from its basic koiné to quite a large extent. Variation includes not only departures from the literary grammar, but also a wide variety in dictionary entries, as different regions maintain words of Frankish or Lombard origin, as well as differences in native Romance terminology. Words imported from various languages are also present, while more recent imports tend to come from France and from Italian. A variety of Piedmontese

650-464: Is shared partially (in the case of the infinitive time) also by most of the western dialects, including the Turin one, that is the most spoken dialect of western piedmontese (and also of the whole piedmontese language). A morphological variation that sharply divides east and west is the indicative imperfect conjugation of irregular verbs. In the east, the suffix ava/iva is used, while in the west asìa/isìa

700-417: Is used. The groups are also distinguished by differing conjugation of the present simple of the irregular verbs: dé , andé , sté (to give, to go, to stay). /v/ is realized as labio-velar [ w ] between /a/ and /u/ and as [ w ] or [ f ] when in word-final position. Allophones of / a / are [ ɑ, ɒ ] in stressed syllables and as [ɐ] when in unstressed position and at end of the word. Piedmontese

750-430: Is written with a modified Latin alphabet. The letters, along with their IPA equivalent, are shown in the table below. Certain digraphs are used to regularly represent specific sounds as shown below. All other combinations of letters are pronounced as written. Grave accent marks stress (except for o which is marked by an acute to distinguish it from ò ) and breaks diphthongs, so ua and uà are /wa/ , but ùa

800-627: The Alps was cut off by the Gothic cavalry. This forced him to take emergency refuge in the city of Hasta until more Roman troops could be assembled in Italy. The Goths placed Hasta under siege until March when General Stilicho , bringing reinforcements from the Rhine , fought and defeated them at the Battle of Pollentia . After this first victorious defence, thanks to a massive line of walls, Hasta suffered from

850-467: The Langhe and Monferrato Hills region in the centre of Piedmont, limestone and sandstone deposits laid down by the retreating Adriatic some 5 million years ago , and are home to some of Italy's most known red wines, plus some white ones. Asti is the centre of production of the sparkling Asti ( DOCG , often known as Asti Spumante ). Asti is typically sweet and low in alcohol (often below 8%). It

900-1329: The Turin–Genoa and Castagnole–Asti–Mortara railways. It is also a junction for two other lines, to Genoa and Chivasso , respectively. People from Asti include: The Asti comune consists of the following frazioni : Casabianca, Castiglione, Mombarone, Montegrosso, Montemarzo, Poggio D'Asti, Quarto D'Asti, Revignano, San Marzanotto, Serravalle, Sessant, Stazione Di Portacomaro, Vaglierano, Valgera, Valleandona, Valletanaro, Variglie, Viatosto, Avidano, Baciglio, Balestrino, Barbantana, Belangero, Beneficio-Stangona, Biamini, Bramairate, Bricchetto, Bricco Modena, Briccolino, Burie, Cà Dei Coppi, Carretti, Cascin Ruasin, Cascina Angelo, Cascina Conti, Cascina Fanfarina, Cascina Fontana, Cascina Gioia, Cascina Stella, Cascine Artiglione, Cascine Roasio, Ceresa, Cravera, Distretto, Fornaca, Ghirlandina, Gianotti, Giberto, Lama-Garoppa, Madonna Di Caniglie, Madonna Di Viatosto, Malandroni, Manina, Manzoni, Matei, Meridiana, Olivero, Palucco, Quaranta, Quarto, Roccaschiavino, Rocche Di Callianetto, Rossi, San Giuseppe, San Grato, San Marzanotto Piana, San Sebastiano, Stazione Di Sessant, Torrazzo, Vaglierano Basso, Vairo, Valcossana-Grilletto, Valenzani, Valfea, Valmairone, Vareglio. Asti

950-637: The Venetian language . The first documents in the Piedmontese language were written in the 12th century, the sermones subalpini  [ it ] , when it was extremely close to Occitan , dating from the 12th century, a document devoted to the education of the Knights Templar stationed in Piedmont. During the Renaissance, the oldest Piedmontese literary work of secular character, are

1000-590: The Visigoths had invaded northern Italy and were advancing on Mediolanum (modern Milan ) which was the imperial capital at that time. Honorius , the young emperor and a resident in that city, unable to wait for promised reinforcements any longer, was compelled to flee from Milan for safety in the city of Arles in Gaul . However, just after his convoy had left Milan and crossed the River Po his escape route through

1050-558: The Astigiani troops were defeated at the Battle of Cassano , but, on December 12, 1275, were victorious over the Angevins at the Battle of Roccavione , ending Charles' attempt to expand in Piedmont. In the 1290s, after William VII had also been defeated, Asti was the most powerful city in Piedmont. However, internal struggles for the control of trading and banking enterprises soon divided the city into factions. The most prominent faction

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1100-676: The Augustan Regio IX , favoured by its strategic position on the Tanaro river and on the Via Fulvia , which linked Derthona ( Tortona ) to Augusta Taurinorum ( Turin ). Other roads connected the city to the main passes for what are today Switzerland and France . The city was crucial during the early stages of the barbarian invasions which stormed Italy during the fall of the Western Roman Empire . In early 402 AD,

1150-491: The Piedmontese language were written in the 12th century, the sermones subalpini , when it was extremely close to Occitan . In 2004, Piedmontese was recognised as Piedmont's regional language by the regional parliament, although the Italian government has not yet recognised it as such. In theory, it is now supposed to be taught to children in school, but this is happening only to a limited extent. The last decade has seen

1200-518: The Romans, tribes of Ligures , the Statielli , dominated the area and the toponym probably derives from Ast which means "hill" in the ancient Celtic language . In 124 BC the Romans built a castrum , or fortified camp, which eventually evolved into a full city named Hasta. In 89 BC the city received the status of colonia , and in 49 BC that of municipium . Asti became an important city of

1250-508: The SS 661 state road which runs through the communes of Bra , Sanfrè and Sommariva del Bosco . The communes which fall, partly or entirely within Roero are thus: Roero is a recognized wine-making area of the Province of Cuneo in the Piedmont region; along with its neighbours Langhe and Monferrato it forms the “Distretto Langhe, Roero e Monferrato” wine district. Roero wines include

1300-758: The Savoyard government. On July 28 the Repubblica Astese was declared. However, it was suppressed only two days later. The revolutionary chiefs were arrested and executed. The following year the Savoyards were expelled from Piedmont by the French revolutionary army , and Asti was occupied by general Montrichard. After a short reversal, the French returned after the victory at Marengo (1800) near to Alessandra. Napoleon himself visited Asti on April 29, 1805, but

1350-563: The Sunday of the Sagre, all the towns involved stage a parade with floats depicting traditional farming with everyone in costume along Asti's roads to reach "Campo del Palio" square. Asti province becomes a gourmand's delight from October to December in the white truffle or "tartufo bianco" season. Although neighbouring Alba is better known for its October truffle fair, some of the best truffles are found around Asti's hills, and every weekend there

1400-512: The ancient Torre Rossa , built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus . Asti is the home to several old churches. These include: There is a synagogue and a museum depicting the history of Asti's Jewish community, whose presence is documented since 812. One of the most famous events held in Asti is the famous Palio di Asti , in which all the old town wards, called "Rioni" and "Borghi" plus nearby towns compete in

1450-647: The barbarian invasions which stormed Italy after the fall of the Western Empire , and declined economically. In the second half of the 6th century, it was chosen as a seat for one of the 36 Duchies in which the Lombards divided Italy. The territory of Asti comprised a wide area, stretching out to Albenga and the Maritime Alps . This remained when northern Italy was conquered by the Franks in 774, with

1500-480: The city in 1643. Another unsuccessful Spanish siege occurred in 1650. In November 1703, during the War of Spanish Succession , Asti fell to France again; it was reconquered in 1705 by Victor Amadeus II . In 1745 French troops invaded the city once more, but it was liberated the following year. In 1797 the Astigiani, enraged by the continuous military campaigns and by their resulting poor economic situation, revolted against

1550-435: The east end with [dʒ] e/o [tʃ] for example the westerns [lajt] , [tyjt] , and [vɛj] (milk, all and old) in the east are [lɑtʃ] , [tytʃ] and [vɛdʒ] . A typical eastern features is [i] as allophone of [e] : in word end, at the end of infinitive time of the verb, like in to read and to be ( western [leze] , [ese] vs . eastern [lezi] , [esi] ) and at words feminine plural gender . Although this development

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1600-625: The lands of the bishop and other local feudatories, the latter sued for help to Frederick Barbarossa , who presented under the city walls with a huge army in February 1155. After a short siege, Asti was stormed and burnt. Subsequently, Asti adhered to the Lombard League (1169) against the German emperor, but was again defeated in 1174. Despite this, after the Peace of Constance (1183), the city gained further privileges. The 13th century saw

1650-625: The new burgs of the city. In 1345, at the Battle of Gamenario , the Ghibelline Astigiani and John II of Montferrat again defeated the Neapolitan troops. John ruled over Asti until 1372, but seven years later the city council submitted to Galeazzo II Visconti 's authority. Galeazzo in turn assigned it to Louis of Valois, Duke of Orléans . With the exception of several brief periods under Visconti, Montferrat and Sforza rule, Asti remained under Valois control; it eventually became

1700-403: The north of Alba . The river Tanaro marks its southern border, dividing it from the Langhe . To the north-east its informal boundary with Monferrato follows approximately the line of the border between the provinces of Cuneo and Asti , although Cisterna d’Asti can be taken to be part of Roero. To the north-west it is confined by the province of Turin . To the west its border is taken to be

1750-402: The part of Asti's neighbouring states over the excessive power gained by the city, which had captured Alba and controlled both Chieri and Turin. This state of affairs led to the intervention of Charles I of Anjou , then King of Naples and the most powerful man in Italy. After some guerrilla actions, Asti signed a pact of alliance with Pavia , Genoa and William VII of Montferrat . In 1274

1800-679: The peak of the Astigiani economic and cultural splendour, only momentarily hindered by wars against Alba , Alessandria , Savoy , Milan (which besieged the city in 1230) and the Marquesses of Montferrat and Saluzzo . In particular, the commune aimed to gain control over the lucrative trade routes leading northwards from the Ligurian ports. In this period, the rise of the Casane Astigiane resulted in contrasting political familial alliances of Guelph and Ghibelline supporters. During

1850-405: The publication of learning materials for schoolchildren, as well as general-public magazines. Courses for people already outside the education system have also been developed. In spite of these advances, the current state of Piedmontese is quite grave, as over the last 150 years the number of people with a written active knowledge of the language has shrunk to about 2% of native speakers, according to

1900-432: The red Roero, as well as the white Roero Arneis , and sparkling white Roero Arneis Spumante . The name "Roero" lacking any further specification is reserved for red wines made from a minimum of 95% Nebbiolo grapes with the addition of 2%–5% of non-aromatic red varieties. Roero must be aged in cellars for twenty months, six of them in wooden barrels, while Roero riserva (reserve) must be aged at least 32 months total, with

1950-897: The same minimum of six months spent in wood. Nebbiolo has 194.90 hectares dedicated to it in Roero. Meanwhile, Roero Arneis and Roero Arneis Spumante are made from 95% Arneis grapes with the rest from non-aromatic white varieties of the Piedmonte region. The Arneis grape variety has 832.89 hectares of vineyards devoted to it in Roero. Roero became a DOC region in 1985 and a DOCG region in 2005. Other wines produced include Barbera d'Alba, Birbèt, Bonarda, Favorita, Moscato d'Asti and Nebbiolo d'Alba. 44°42′00″N 7°51′00″E  /  44.7000°N 7.8500°E  / 44.7000; 7.8500 Asti Asti ( UK : / ˈ æ s t i / AST -ee , US : / ˈ ɑː s t i / AH -stee ; Italian: [ˈasti] ; Piedmontese : Ast [ˈɑst] )

2000-422: The second half of the century, Bishop Otto tried to resist the aims of the powerful countess Adelaide of Susa , who damaged the city several times. During Otto's reign, a commune and the consul magistrates are mentioned for the first time (1095). Asti was one of the first free communes of Italy, and in 1140 received the right to mint coins of its own by Conrad II . As the commune, however, had begun to erode

2050-406: The spring and autumn; during the hottest months, rain is less common, but stronger when it does occur, usually in thunderstorms. During November and December in particular, the town of Asti can be prone to fog, which is less common in the higher-altitude areas that surround it. Sections of the ancient city walls remain on the north side of the city and in the late 20th century building work uncovered

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2100-497: The title of County. In the late Carolingian age, Asti was ruled directly by his bishops, who were the main landlords of the area. Most important are Audax (904-926) and Bruningus (937-966), who moved the episcopal seat to the Castel Vecchio ("Old Castle"), where it remained until 1409. The bishopric of Asti remained a powerful entity well into the 11th century when Pietro II received huge privileges by emperor Henry II . In

2150-626: The wars led by Emperor Frederick II in northern Italy, the city chose his side: Asti was defeated by the Guelphs of Alessandria at Quattordio and Clamandrana, but thanks to Genoese help, it recovered easily. After Frederick's death, the struggle against Thomas II of Savoy became fierce: the Astigiani defeated him on February 23, 1255, at the Battle of Montebruno , but Thomas (who had been taken prisoner) replied ordering all traders from Asti to be arrested in Savoy and France . This move showed worry on

2200-578: The week-long Douja d'Or wine exhibition which is held at the same time as the Palio and Sagre. The first documentation on the variety Freisa d'Asti are from the beginning of the 16th century. Asti is also famous for its Asti's Festival of Festivals , held in September a week before the Palio. During the festival most of the towns in Asti's province meet in a great square called "Campo del Palio", they offer typical food and wine for which they are known. On

2250-484: The westernmost part of Lomellina near Pavia ). It has some support from the Piedmont regional government but is considered a dialect rather than a separate language by the Italian central government. Due to the Italian diaspora Piedmontese has spread in the Argentinian Pampas , where many immigrants from Piedmont settled. The Piedmontese language is also spoken in some states of Brazil, along with

2300-706: The works of Zan Zòrs Alion, poet of the duchy of Montferrat, the most famous work being the opera Jocunda. In the 1500s and 1600s, there were several pastoral comedies with parts in Piedmontese. In the Baroque period, El Cont Piolèt , a comedy by Giovan Battista Tan-na d'Entraive was published. Literary Piedmontese developed in the 17th and 18th centuries, but it did not gain literary esteem comparable to that of French or Italian, other languages used in Piedmont. Nevertheless, literature in Piedmontese has never ceased to be produced: it includes poetry , theatre pieces, novels , and scientific work. The first documents in

2350-671: Was Judeo-Piedmontese , a dialect spoken by the Piedmontese Jews until the Second World War , when most were killed during the Holocaust . Some survivors knew the language but as of 2015, the language had gone extinct. It had many loanwards from Provencal , Spanish and Hebrew . It kept many conservative features that Piedmontese abandoned over time. The language never became as large in terms of words as larger Jewish languages like Yiddish , and it never developed

2400-462: Was given to Beatrice of Portugal when she married Charles III of Savoy . Asti was one of the main Savoyard strongholds in later wars. In 1616, besieged by the Spanish governor of Milan, it was defended by Duke Charles Emmanuel I himself. In 1630–31, the city suffered a high mortality rate from an outbreak of the plague . Some years later Asti was conquered by the Spanish, although Savoy regained

2450-525: Was received rather coldly by the citizens. The city was demoted and incorporated with Alessandra under the department of Marengo. After the end of the French empire, Asti returned to Piedmont in 1814; the city followed Piedmontese history until the unification of Italy in 1861. Asti has a continental climate which is moderated by the proximity of the Mediterranean sea: its winters are warmer, and its summers cooler than Turin . Rain falls mostly during

2500-531: Was the powerful bankers of the Solari family, who, in 1314, gave the city to king Robert of Naples . The free Republic of Asti ceased to exist. In 1339 the Ghibelline exiles recaptured the city, expelling the Solari and their allies. In 1342 however, the menace of the Solari counteroffensive led the new rulers to submit to Luchino Visconti of Milan. Visconti built a citadel and a second ring of walls to protect

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