Piasco: Frescoes, Harps and a Brewery Visit

Historic Traces in Piasco

Piasco appeals to travellers who want to discover a place through its buildings, sacred art, music and regional experiences. Castello Porporato di Piasco was built around 1650 at the behest of the Porporato family. Its interior frescoes and decorations were created between the 17th and 18th centuries. In some rooms of the piano nobile, the representative upper floor, there are inlaid decorations on the ceilings and floors.

The Church of San Giovanni Battista dates back to the 11th century and is now better known as Santuario della Madonna del Carmine. The Santuario preserves a cycle of frescoes by Pietro da Saluzzo, dating from around 1470. The present parish church of Piasco was built at the end of the 18th century at the behest of Filippo Porporato, Bishop of Saluzzo.

The parish church also houses a valuable baptismal font dating from 1450. In the Cappella di Sant'Anna, a cycle of frescoes from 1470 decorates the apse; some of these are attributed to Pietro da Saluzzo.

Opposite the Cappella di San Rocco stands the Baroque Chiesa della Confraternita, dating from 1612. Above Piasco, the Cappella di San Bernardo “il Vecchio” rises on a hill at an altitude of around 1,000 metres. These different sites give your exploration a clear alternation between local history, sacred art and higher-altitude landscapes.

Harps, History and Discoveries

A distinctive cultural highlight is the Museo dell’Arpa Victor Salvi. It is the first and only museum in the world dedicated entirely to the harp, its history and its sonic universe. The museum was founded to house a changing collection of more than 110 antique harps. Seminars, guided visits and educational workshops are offered for schools and individuals.

This allows you to tailor your museum visit according to your interests: you can focus on the historical development of the harp or place greater emphasis on its sound and the educational programmes on offer.

Tours and Regional Specialities

For an active itinerary, the Piasco–Colle dell’Agnello cycling tour is available with GPS tracks for download. The files are available in GPX, TCX and KML formats. This allows you to incorporate the tour into your personal travel plans using the appropriate digital resources, without losing sight of the town’s cultural sites.

A clearly seasonal occasion is the celebration of the Cappella di Santa Brigida di Svezia in Piasco on the second Sunday in May. If you plan your stay around this date, the festival becomes one of the specific cultural highlights of your itinerary.

The Kauss brewery combines regional products with insights into the production process. The visit ends with a tasting of the brewery’s Piedmontese beers, accompanied by typical products from producers in the Province of Cuneo between the Langhe and Monviso. The visit also includes a walk through the adjoining field. The cultivation of barley and hops grown on Piedmontese land between the Langhe and Monviso is explained there.

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To the higher-level travel overview: Cuneo.