This tour includes the city of Cuneo and the nearby valleys (clockwise, Pesio, Vermenagna, Gesso and Stura) and owing to the layout of the land, it is a little "intricate". The fastest way to see it is by car, taking into account the narrow mountain roads, the curves and hairpin bends and the fact that you cannot cover it in a short time.

Do not be tempted to hurry. Cuneo (534 m) deserves the time it takes to be understood. Time to grasp its colours and scents and to appreciate the fascination of this historical and cultural city that is stroked by the winds of the sea and where the French language is at home.

The city takes its name from its shape, a wedge on the plateau where the Gesso torrent and the Stura River meet. The term "pizzo di Cuneo" (point of Cuneo) first appeared in 23 June 1198.

The House of Savoy felt the position of the city was strategic and made it into a stronghold during their reign. As a result, it was often besieged between 1542 and 1800. Wars, plundering and destruction left their mark, so little remains of older art like the 15th century church of S. Francesco, the centre of city life for centuries. The rest of the city dates mainly to the 17th-18th centuries. The Baroque churches are fine examples of this period and are the work of various builders and planners. The church of S. Ambrogio is by Francesco Gallo; the unusual, elegant S. Croce (holding remarkable art treasures) by Antonio Bertola; and the church of S. Maria by Giovenale Boetto.

There are also important palazzos like Audifreddi, which is the seat of the Civic Library, Chiodo della Chiesa, a short distance away, and Lovera (now a hotel). Then there is the Town Hall that used to be the Jesuit College (restored in the 18th century) and the frequently altered Torre Civica, which was built on the site of the older Town Hall. The 19th century, on the other hand, is well represented by the symmetrical piazza Duccio Galimberti. Walking down Corso Giovanni XXIII you have a good view of the Ligurian and Maritime Alps and part of the Monregalese Langhe.

When you reach the end, you can admire Umberto Mastroianni's modern monument to the Italian Resistance, immersed in the Parco della Resistenza in Viale degli Angeli. This tree-lined boulevard, with villas and Liberty-style homes, is lovely the year round and leads to the Angeli Sanctuary.

If you come by car, leave it at the gates of Cuneo or in the underground parking and then walk to piazza Galimberti, the city centre. If you arrive by train, you should know that it takes twenty minutes to walk to the centre along the main thoroughfare of the city, which is entirely covered by arcades. More recent buildings are here too, making it an unusual "open-air" business district.

If you arrive on a Tuesday, you can delight in the colourful market, with hundreds of stalls selling just about everything. The piazza is a sort of border between two cities and separates the old medieval centre from the new one that developed after the walls were demolished between 1800 and 1802. It is also worth going to the outskirts for a final look at Cuneo. From the other side of the Gesso or the Stura you can admire the city skyline, whose belfries and towers will give you a sense of Cuneo's eight-hundred-year history and its urban evolution.

Visit to the old centre of the town.

You will admire the heart of Cuneo, Galimberti Square, where on Tuesdays the famous open market takes places extending also over via Roma, the main street of the old town with its medieval arcades.

A little beyond the square stands the old church of the town, the Dome, dating back to the origin of Cuneo - to 1198 - with the name of Madonna del Bosco. This wide Baroque cathedral was designed by G. Boetto in the 17th century, the decorations date from the 19th century and the magnificent icon on the main altar was created by Andrea Pozzo in 1685.

Among the other churches you can visit S. Maria delle Pieve with a canvas by Pozzo and dedicated to S. Giuseppe, S. Ambrogio with its stucco and artist works from the 18th century, S. Chiara and S. Croce where a visit authorization is required.

Among the civic buildings we suggest you to visit the Town Hall located in via Roma with its rooms frescoed between the 18th and 19th centuries, the Palace of S. Giovanni where the church - once of the brotherhood - had been changed to a multi-purpose room thanks to an expert renovation. Among the many aristocratic palaces dating from the 17th and 18th centuries are the Bishop’s Palace, the Lovera di Maria Palace and the Ricci d’Andonno.

Today the old monastery of S. Francesco houses the interesting Civic Museum with its historical and ethnographical collections and daily open except on Monday. On public holiday afternoons you can take the panoramic lift of the Civic Tower dating from 1317 and from its top the magnificent view of the alpine mountains and the scenery can be admired.

A lovely walk in the modern part of the town includes the attractive Viale (avenue) degli Angeli, the green lung of Cuneo with its art nouveau houses, the Park dedicated to the Resistance Movement and the Sanctuary degli Angeli where, inside, stands the altar of Juvarra, the grave of the Galimberti family and a transparent coffin containing the uncorrupted mortal remains of the blessed Angelo Carletti who lived in the 15th century.

We suggest you the visit of the Casa Museo Galimberti where you can discover the history of this bourgeois family at the end of the 19th century and the history of the Resistance with Duccio Galimberti who was a key personage of this movement and admire a very interesting collection of paintings and sculptures.

Finally you can go to the village of Madonna dell’Olmo where the ancient friary of the Augustinians is today the villa Tornaforte where it is possible to visit both the interior and the English garden, one of the most beautiful gardens in Italy.

http://turismo.provincia.cuneo.it/itinerari/index.jsp?lang=en&cap=cuneese&par=intro

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