Tonco: Churches, Castle Walls and Scenic Trails

Tonco combines Baroque church architecture, traces of a former castle, old rural village scenes and paths through a gently undulating landscape. Historic buildings, local traditions and paths through the surrounding landscapes coexist in Tonco.

Churches and Historical Traces

The Chiesa dei Santi Maria Assunta e San Giuseppe is an 18th-century late Baroque parish church. It was built according to a design by Filippo Castelli. Inside, the main altar made of fine marble defines the sacred space.

Some sections of the surrounding walls of Tonco's former castle have been preserved. These traces are located in Tonco's oldest settlement area, whose buildings were built within the Ricetto.

The Chiesa di San Giovanni Evangelista stands on the square of the same name at the end of Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II in Tonco. In the Piedmontese dialect, the Chiesa dell'Annunziata is called „la Nunsià“. The Santuario di Maria Ausiliatrice was built in 1922. The bell tower of the demolished Chiesa di Santa Maria is still preserved today.

Stages, Landscape and Village Details

Stage 4 of the Cammini delle alte colline ombrose e delle colline chiare leads from Corsione to Tonco. It is 11.5 kilometres long and takes 2 hours and 45 minutes. Tonco lies at the end of this stage.

Stage 5 begins in Tonco and leads 10.5 kilometres to the Frazione Sanico. It takes 2 hours and 35 minutes. Tonco is the starting point of this stage. The two stages therefore connect Tonco in opposite directions with Corsione and Sanico. For day planning, both stages are just over ten kilometres long and take less than three hours.

The first section of Stage 5 follows the road from Tonco into the Valle del Rio di Tonco. The route passes through extensive cultivated areas with gently varying elevations and offers wide views of ridge roads with historic farmhouses and small linear settlements. The ridge roads, farmhouses and linear settlements also give the section a clearly structured landscape character.

Tonco's streets feature many old gateways that conceal the courtyards of the village's oldest farmhouses. Tonco's Bialbero is a plant with another tree growing at its top. It is located in Località Cascina Piane.

Sport, Festivals and Customs

The Sferisterio Cavalier Beretta is a competition field for Tambass. Tambass is also called Tamburello a muro; it is a sport typical of Astesano Monferrato.

The Giostra del Pitu includes an equestrian competition with seven participating districts. The Brando is a folk dance typical of Monferrato, documented since the first half of the 17th century. The Brando dance begins after the Giostra del Pitu. The sequence of the equestrian competition and the Brando is therefore part of the festive context of the Giostra del Pitu.

Other Places for Comparison

Other places: Calamandrana, Grazzano Badoglio, Corsione, Celle Enomondo, Cortanze, Montegrosso D'asti, Cantarana and Casorzo.

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