What is Moncalvo known for?

Granted city status by the Gonzaga in 1705 and the Savoy in 1775; 2,730 residents now carry the title. Five-century truffle tradition; the Fiera Nazionale del Tartufo runs the last three weekends of October. Guglielmo Caccia, the Counter-Reformation painter born here in 1568, left major canvases in San Francesco and Sant'Antonio.

Moncalvo is a comune in the province of Asti, Piedmont region of Italy, about 68 kilometers from Novara.

Piedmont · Asti

Moncalvo

Italy's smallest city by title, 2,730 residents on a Monferrato ridge, with a five-hundred-year truffle tradition and Guglielmo Caccia's home churches.

68 km / 42 mi

Nearest hub (Novara)

2,730

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Moncalvo sitson a Monferrato ridge, forty-five kilometers east of Torino. It carries the title of smallest city in Italy, granted by Duke Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga in 1705 and confirmed by Victor Amadeus III of Savoy in 1775. The town was the first capital of the Marquisate of Monferrato, founded by the Aleramici in the 10th century. Guglielmo Caccia, the Counter-Reformation painter known as il Moncalvo, was born here in 1568 and left major canvases in the churches of San Francesco and Sant'Antonio, alongside works by his daughter Orsola. The synagogue on Piazza Carlo Alberto is the only one in the world built directly on a city's main piazza, a remnant of the Jewish community recorded here since the 1500s. The Fiera Nazionale del Tartufo, documented for more than five centuries, runs the last three weekends of October and pulls the truffle trade north of Alba into this ridge.

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Gallery

8 photos · scroll →

Known for

Chiesa di San Francesco
Conventual church holding major canvases by Guglielmo Caccia (il Moncalvo) and his daughter Orsola, both 17th century.
Sinagoga di Moncalvo
Synagogue on Piazza Carlo Alberto, the only one in the world built directly on a city's main square, with 18th-century interior.
Chiesa di Sant'Antonio
Smaller historic church preserving further works by Guglielmo Caccia and the Moncalvo school of his workshop.
Centro storico
Hilltop town with surviving medieval gates and Renaissance palazzi from its years as the first Monferrato capital.
Fiera Nazionale del Tartufo
October truffle fair documented for over 500 years, the second-largest white truffle market in Piemonte after Alba.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September into October are the months the ridge feels right. October is the truffle weeks, when buyers and restaurants book the ridge well ahead and the streets around Piazza Carlo Alberto fill on Saturday and Sunday mornings. July and August push past thirty degrees and the centro empties in the afternoon, though the elevation keeps evenings tolerable. November through March is quiet but never closed: trattorie serve bagna cauda and finanziera through the cold months, the synagogue opens by appointment and the Caccia churches stay accessible for the determined visitor.