Percorsi Urbani - Gavi

PERCORSI URBANI (URBAN TOURS)

"Percorsi Urbani" is the initiative supported by Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria, designed to get to know the cities and towns of the province of Alessandria through engaging visual storytelling. Original illustrations and routes between iconic monuments and hidden corners, enhancing culture and landscape. A fascinating experience designed for tourists and citizens.

Watch Fabio De Vivo's video and retrace his itinerary which you can find on the map below, together with a description of the main points of interest.

Gavi

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.

Gavi DOCG wine is renowned throughout the world. It is produced from Cortese grapes grown in 11 municipalities on a surface of 1450 hectares, and is available both still and sparkling.

Despite the alternating historical vicissitudes, Gavi has been predominantly the territory of the Republic of Genoa, defined Oltregiogo, “beyond the Apennines”.

we can still admire the marvelous residences scattered among the hills which important Genoese noble families began to build from the 1600s, intensifying the cultivation of a whtie berry vine called Cortese, already present on the territory since the year 1000.

Project created by Alexala with the contribution of the Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria Foundation

The video by creator Fabio De Vivo was made possible by the project "Discovering lower Piedmont" created by the SLALA Foundation

Itenary

In Via Mameli Chiesa Parrocchiale di San Giacomo , in operation since 1172 as a hospital for the Pilgrims on the way of San Giacomo De Compostela, it underwent Baroque renovations in 1700 with the addition of the hexagonal bell tower. The facade in sandstone has a magnifient portal, in the lunette The Last Supper with Christ who is crushing a demon. Many of the art works inside include the 15th century painting of Our lady among the Saints James and Gandolfino da Roreto, the small marble statue of Our Lady by Francesco Schiaffino, the painting of Our Lady with Saint Gaetano and the angels by Domenico Piola, two frescoes dated to the late 1300s representing Saint Sebastian with Saint Roch and Our Lady of Mercy.
Palazzo del Municipio ,medieval building in calcareous stone, on the facade two arches with central pillar bears witness to an ancient loggia renovated with an additional floor in the late 1700s.
Il Portino o Porta di Bagnacavallo , in vico Portino, built during the 1200s in sandstone, it is the only one to survive of the four medieval gates with walls enclosing Gavi from the fort.
In via Ospedale, l’Oratorio dei Bianchi one of the three Oratories of Gavi, the oldest, built in the late 1500s, the interior features a large 17th century fresco depicting the Final Judgement by the artist Giovanni Battista Carlone from Genoa.
Il Forte rises majestically on the spur of rock which overlooks the village, it has undergone numerous modifications over the centuries in line with the development of the weapons of war. Stronghold in pre-Roman and Roman times, in the Middle Ages it was a castle with high walls. In 1625, the Republic of Genoa started work which transformed the castle into the current fortress. In 1854, it was disarmed, later used as a prison camp during the two world wars. The fort is also reachable on foot from the center of Gavi.
Sulla collina a pochi chilometri si trova il Santuario della Madonna della Guardia , built in 1861 in less than four months, with the labor of the population of Gavi. It all began in 1817: a long drought was damaging the countrysides threatening famine and hunger; the people of Gavi brought the statue of Our Lady della Guardia in procession to the mountain, and aksed for her intercession. The day after it poured rain. Inside it preserves the beautiful wooden statue of Our Lady della Guardia, of 1746, ex voto of Giacomo Bertelli, from Gavi.