Bosco Marengo: Renaissance Art and Nature

Bosco Marengo brings together the Santa Croce and Ognissanti monastic complex, other historic churches, the art of Giorgio Vasari and the natural environment of the Torrente Orba.

Santa Croce, Vasari and Pius V

The Santa Croce and Ognissanti monastery was built in 1566 by Pope Pius V in his hometown to accommodate Dominican friars. Giorgio Vasari was among those involved in planning and constructing the complex and the artworks it contains. The Chiesa di Santa Croce is considered an important example of Italian architecture from the second half of the 16th century. Its floor plan is in the shape of a Latin cross; inside, there is a single nave and ten interconnected side chapels.

The Casa Natale di Pio V. is the birthplace of Antonio Ghislieri, who was born there on 17 January 1504. The building consists of four rooms with a staircase in the middle, a covered front area with an outbuilding, a small courtyard with a fountain and a stable. Another historic trace leads to the parish church of Chiesa dei SS. Pietro e Pantaleone, which was built in the 13th century. Its fifth chapel on the right houses the baptismal font where Pope Pius V was baptised.

Art collection and surviving sections of the walls

The Museo di Santa Croce presents its reassembled art collection in an exhibition featuring light, sound and images. The main collection consists of panels by Giorgio Vasari and his workshop, created for the church's high altar. The high altar is called the Macchina Vasariana. More than 300 metres of the bastions of the Antiche Mura are currently visible; they begin at the mill and end in the area of the Forte di Castelvecchio.

The Romanesque bell tower with a square floor plan and the side walls are all that remain of the medieval parish church.

Torrente Orba and the Garzaia

The Torrente Orba nature reserve is included in the Site of Community Importance ZSC and the Special Protection Area ZPS IT1180002 “Torrente Orba”. 211 bird species have been recorded in this nature reserve. Bosco Marengo is also home to a heron colony where grey herons, little egrets and night herons nest.

The Torrente Orba nature reserve's visitor centre is located in the rooms next to the Vecchio Mulino at Via Guglielmo Marconi 18. On the ground floor of the Antico Mulino, a diorama depicts the Garzaia area in the nature reserve. Contacting Cascina Belvedere is required for visits, excursions and educational programmes at the Antico Mulino.

Activities and local character

Pista Kart Bosco offers go-karting on outdoor and indoor tracks. Cascina Saetta has an educational workshop open to schools and associations. The Bosco Fiorito event takes place in the central square and the adjacent streets and features, in addition to flower and plant stalls, stalls selling local food and handcrafted artisan products.

Other places in the same region

For further orientation, you can also discover Carpeneto, Castelnuovo Scrivia, Sant'Agata Fossili, Borgo San Martino, Voltaggio, Quargnento, Montaldo Bormida and Bacchetti.

For the higher-level travel overview: Alessandria.