Who stays in Fossano can learn about a territory that offers countless opportunities to stop to deepen a culture
that comes from a centuries-old history and has roots that have remained the same over time, discovering the true nature of the many fascinating corners:
LANDSCAPE
Set high above, dominating the surrounding plain, it allows those who live in the old town to enjoy a mild micro-climate and pure air, where the fog ca hardly climb, and a splendid view of the mountain circle, on the hills of the Langhe and the Stura river. The river, with its tributaries, offers just a few minutes a large park, ideal for walking and hiking and in particular rich in nature trails.
Those who stay in the historic center can enjoy this splendid panorama with a walk on the ancient layout of the walls that surrounds the center, traveling from south-west to south-east the historic pedestrian boulevard which has been the destination of the Fossano walkways for generations, with a priceless view of the river valley and beyond this on the Langhe and the Alps. A second avenue, more recently restored, starts from the bastion to the north to turn west around the walls of an old convent and continue up to the Porta di San Martino, adjacent to the Castle, with a wide panorama that starts from the northern Alps of Piedmont and goes up to Monviso.
EVENTS
The center hosts numerous events, starting from the traditional Wednesday market, a landmark of the territory. And then eno-gastronomic events for the promotion of local products, as well as theatrical evenings, organized by local companies. The most heartfelt event is the Palio dei Borghi, a historical re-enactment that, with a great number of figures, relives the passage to Fossano, in 1585, of Carlo Emanuele I and his bride, the Infanta of Spain, Catherine of Austria. For a whole week there are dances, street games, costume parades and competitions. A second great event, recently born, is Mirabilia, International Festival of Street Circus, which recalls the major names of the contemporary circus, street arts and dance world-wide, filling the streets, squares and courtyards of artists who reserve continuous surprises for a week
The most prestigious event is Vocalmente, the Italian Vocal Festival that starts from the passion for the Piedmontese choral tradition to arrive at contemporary international cappella music, involving professionals and fans from all over the world. The Festival is the culminating event of the musical season organized by the Fossano Music Foundation, which makes Fossano a real “city of music“, with the organization of master classes and seminars also held by famous international teachers and with frequent concerts and musical evenings. In four days, at the beginning of September, the historical center is populated by musical events held in theaters, churches, courtyards and squares, but also by meetings of people from different cultural, social and geographical backgrounds, which, united by a common language, improvise concerts that also involve residents and visitors.
ART & HISTORY
The historic center of Fossano is rich in an artistic heritage of undoubted importance, testimony of a city that in its centuries-old history has played a primary role for long periods. It is at the same time a highly concentrated heritage: in a few hundred meters, a walk in the historic center reserves many surprises: important historic buildings with beautiful courtyards and ancient carved wooden doors, charming squares, long arcades overlooked by modern boutiques and old shops , a traditional place for walking, meeting and making conversations.
Among the most significant places, in addition to the numerous churches, among which the splendid Baroque Church of the Holy Trinity, and the Diocesan Museum, which collects significant testimonies of sacred art, the symbolic building of Fossano remains the mighty Acaja Castle, on the great extreme western square of the historical center, which has as its backdrop the chain of the Alps, where Monviso emerges. The center can be crossed along two axes: the main one, from north to south, that from the ancient bastion arrives at the end of the high part of the city, overlooking the Maritime Alps, and the shortest, but not less interesting, from West to East that from the large Castle Square reaches the view of the river through evocative squares.
