The route called the “Il Camino delle Colline Sacre”, suitable both for hiking and biking tours, goes through the nord-western area of the Province of Asti, from the so-called “Terre dei Santi” to the “Colline del Romanico”. It includes 9 Municipalities and allows the hiker to discover, between bigger and smaller villages, a lot of only apparently “minor” attractions, because they are of great architectural value and deeply connected to history and folklore of the local communities.

The “sacred theme” is the fil rouge of this itinerary, which here is expressed in two forms: the first is the capillar presence of Romanesque churches, from the most famous to the less known; the second is the link between these lands and some famous figures of Christianity, such as Saint Giovanni Bosco, the founder of the Order of Salesians.

In the old towns the impressive castles, buildings and churches peep out, that testify the prestige of these villages and the families that ruled them, from the Middle Ages to the modern time, facing sieges, famine and pestilences, and filling their residences with gardens, artistic masterpieces and legends.

This territory tells its history through great names, from the Radicati Counts to the King of France Charles VIII, from the deeds of a very young Saint Domenico Savio to those of Magherita Occhiena, a poor peasant; she was Saint Giovanni Bosco’s mother and the “adoptive mother” of all the kids that attended the Oratory in Valdocco.

An itinerary of a strong landscape value; thanks to it, you can enjoy the whole “skyline” of Monferrato, catching in a unique view country churches, bell-towers, parks and fortresses, with a pleasant series of “ups and downs” among woods, fields, pastures and vineyards