PERCORSI URBANI (URBAN TOURS)

Surrounded by the vineyard-covered hills and lapped by the River Bormida, it was founded by the population of the Liguri Statielli.

With a population of almost 100,000, Alessandria is the capital of the homonymous province, strategically positioned at the center of a large plain, between the main communication routes between Piedmont, Lombardy and Liguria.

With the Po River running alongside it, the city opens towards the hills of Monferrato, a vast territory of which it was a magnificent capital starting in the 11th century with the Aleramic dynasty, continuing with the Marquisate of the Paleologus of Byzantium and the Duchy of the Gonzaga of Mantua.

The vineyard planted hills and the nearby Apennines have always characterized the territory of Gavi; indeed, for many centuries, thanks to the ancient Salt Roads, it was an important transit area and toll payment station for goods and travelers, between Liguria and Piedmont.

Bordered by the lowland, at the foot hills known for their wine production.

Where the hills of Monferrato embrace the Ligurian Apennines, at the confluence of the Rivers Orba and Stura, Ovada was already inhabited by Celtic-Ligurian populations since ancient times; from the century BC it was a Roman post guarding the two fords on the rivers.

Nestled between the great plains of Alessandria and the famous Tortona Hills, which head towards the Apennines, from the 11 century BC, the town was a flourishing Roman colony thanks to the transit of the famous communication routes, the Via Postumia, the Via Fulvia and part of the Via Emilia Scauri.

Nestled among the hills and the river plain, the Romans and before them the ancient Ligurians had chosen this strategically positioned area as a trading center and flourishing site for farming activities: today, Valenza Po is recognised internationally as one of the key centers of the production of goldsmith art.