Piedmont · Alessandria
Cella Monte
A 465-person Monferrato Casalese borgo built in pietra da cantoni, with infernot cellars listed under the UNESCO Vineyard Landscape.
Known for
INFERNOT
Underground sandstone cells dug between 1830 and 1860 for storing wine; component of the UNESCO Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont.
PIETRA DA CANTONI
Local marine sandstone, 20-million-year-old, used as the construction stone for the entire village and its underground cellars.
ECOMUSEO
Ecomuseum of the pietra da cantoni inside Palazzo Volta, the village interpretive centre for stone, infernot and rural architecture.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
The festa: Quirico e Giulitta, 16 June
Why come
Cella Monte sits in the Monferrato Casalese hills, ten kilometers south-west of Casale Monferrato. The commune holds 465 people. The defining material is pietra da cantoni, a soft sandstone formed when the Padana sea retreated more than 20 million years ago, which exists only here and which the village built itself out of: walls, arches, courtyards, retaining structures all the same yellow-grey block.
Under those houses, the infernot. The infernot is a small underground cell dug entirely into the sandstone, usually adjacent to a wine cellar, where the constant temperature, the humidity, the absence of light and the absence of draught and noise gave optimal storage for the family's best bottles. Most date to between 1830 and 1860.
The infernot of the Monferrato are listed as part of the UNESCO Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont. The Ecomuseo della Pietra da Cantoni is housed in Palazzo Volta, whose recent restoration uncovered a fifteenth-century loggia.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Cella Monte’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
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What to see
Infernot di Cella Monte
Small underground cells dug into pietra da cantoni sandstone, mostly 1830-1860, used for storing the best wine bottles at constant temperature.
Ecomuseo della Pietra da Cantoni
Local stone and infernot museum inside Palazzo Volta, whose restoration uncovered a fifteenth-century arched loggia.
Palazzo Volta
Restored noble palazzo in the centro storico, home of the Ecomuseo, with a fifteenth-century loggia recovered under later masonry.
Chiesa di San Quirico
Parish church of the village, built in the local pietra da cantoni like every other principal structure in the borgo.
Centro storico
Small Monferrato Casalese borgo built entirely in pietra da cantoni, a member of I Borghi più belli d'Italia.
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Living here
- Population 465
- Commuter belti
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Turin, 1 h 27 min drive
- Regional capital Torino, 1 h 27 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 268 m
- Population: 465
- Surface area: 5.55 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Close by
More towns near Cella Monte
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Cocconato
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🎨 Borghi più belli d'Italia
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Barolo
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Garbagna
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A Val Curone borgo at 270 meters with tall Ligurian-style houses, home of the Ciliegia Bella di Garbagna cherry.