Overview
Acqui Terme is a fascinating spa town already renowned in Roman times for its steaming waters. It is surrounded by vineyards and landscapes recognised in 2014 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for their breathtaking beauty. Located in the province of Alessandria, a borderland between Piedmont and Liguria in the Alto Monferrato area, this town is rich in environmental, landscape, artistic and eno-gastronomic attractions, not far from the large cities of Genoa, Milan and Turin. The imposing remains of the Roman aqueduct bear witness to the importance that water has always had for this town, which offers its visitors an enviable combination of art, culture, history, gastronomic excellence, charm and Italian hospitality that make it a unique and captivating destination.
Food
Acqui Terme offers an excellent choice of typical restaurants, elegant ones, trattorias, inns and agriturismi (farmhouses usually serving guests food that was prepared from raw materials produced on the farm or from other local merchants).
This is a land to savour through its food and wine treasures. The gastronomy, though characterised by simplicity, is very rich, consisting of dishes based on local seasonal ingredients. Most dishes have poor origins derived from the modest economic conditions of the area during past centuries, and despite having been enriched over time, they have never lost their primary ingredient: authenticity.
Typical of the local cuisine are a rich selection of starters, including the “filetto baciato” salami, an absolute delight, cacciatorini, lard, peppers with bagna cauda and a variety of savoury pies. Among the first courses, tajarin with mushrooms or game sauces, agnolotti al plin, polenta, cisrò – farinata – deserve a special mention, and among the second courses, the local meats, mixed boiled meat, rabbit, braised meat, tripe, but also stockfish, finanziera, Piedmontese fritto misto and bagna cauda, the convivial dish par excellence, all represent unforgettable dining experiences. Hence the birth of a renowned speciality such as Stoccafisso all’acquese, an iconic recipe handed down from generation to generation and present on several menus in Acqui’s restaurants.
Other local specialities include amaretti biscuits, baci di dama (lady’s kisses), brut e bon, Acquesi al Rhum and Canelin’s award-winning turrón, recognised together with the local artisanal ice cream as one of Italy’s best products!
The highly appreciated truffle, one of the top products of the region, grows underground throughout the local area, in harmony with oak, willow, linden and poplar trees.
Porcini mushrooms, delicious and abundant in our valleys, are much sought after by gourmets in the autumn months.
Roccaverano DOP – (literally “Protected Designation of Origin”) – A product that symbolises the hard work behind mountain sheep/goat farming. This goat’s cheese – a blend of the fragrances, flowers and herbs of the area, produced fresh or matured – appears to this day to be the only one capable of equalling if not surpassing the legendary French cheeses.
Filetto baciato – a renowned product of Aquitaine gastronomy, the filetto baciato is a unique kind of cured meat, invented by the Malò (Ponzone) family at the beginning of the last century and obtained by stuffing salami paste around the pork fillet.
Wine and other drinks
The Alto Monferrato territory and the entire Acqui area is a wonderful land surrounded by picturesque vineyards producing excellent wines appreciated all over the world. Visitors and encouraged to explore our wineries and the Regional Wine Cellar, where you can taste the best wines, visit the characteristic and historic cellars, discover how wine is made, learn about the perfect gastronomic combination of wine and food, and stroll through the vineyards! The vineyards are an unmistakable presence in the Acquese territory. For generations, the skilful cultivation of grapes has produced excellent wines, among which Acqui DOCG, Brachetto d’Acqui DOCG and Dolcetto d’Acqui DOC stand out as typical wines. Additionally, wines are produced from the cultivation of prized grapes such as Barbera, Freisa, Dolcetto, Cortese, Chardonnay, as well as the renowned aromatic essences of Brachetto and Moscato to be enjoyed in sweet, sparkling, rosé and passito versions.
Points of Interest
- The Bollente shrine and thermal spring
The city’s most symbolic monument and a must-see stop for visitors. A gift of nature, that flow of thermal water categorized as salt-bromine-iodine-sulfur that gushes out at an amazing flow capacity of 560 liters per minute at a temperature of 74.5 C. Between 1870 and 1880, the town council lead by Giuseppe Saracco completely transformed the old area around the thermal spring and destroyed the Jewish Ghetto. The Engineer Ceruti built the Greek style temple (1879) to emphasize the importance of the hot sulphur-bromine-iodine thermal water, which gushes out in piazza Bollente at an amazing temperature of 74,5° C.
The roman aqueduct represents one of the most significant and valuable historic monuments in Acqui Terme. In fact, it is the best preserved among monuments of its kind still existing in the territory of the region of Piedmont, and represents one of the most remarkable roman aqueducts found in northern Italy. The construction dates back to the beginning of Imperial times, probably from the Augustan age (beginning of 1st century AD).
- Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta
The construction for the Cathedral began by the Bishop Primo (989-1018) and it was later consecrated in 1067 by Saint Guy, Bishop and Patron Saint of the city. From the Romanesque period the apses and beautiful crypt are still visible. Noteworthy is the great portal, a masterpiece by Antonio Pilacorte (1481) and inside the pulpit built at the beginning of the 19th century using reused marble slabs and the baptistery in a rococo style. The left transept houses St. Guy’s altar and the altarpiece by the Genoese artist David Corte. In the Chapter House the Triptych of Our Lady of Montserrat, a masterpiece by the Spanish painter Bartolomeo Bermejo is preserved.
- Paleologi Castle – Archaeological Museum & Botanic Garden
Its first record dates back to 1056 as the bishop’s residence, until in 1340 the Marquis of Monferrato took it over. Guglielmo VII Paleologo started rebuilding it between 1480 and 1490, and later the Gonzaga family restructured it during the 17th century employing the Architect Scapitta, and finally in 1789 the architect Ferroggio built the prisons. The castle has remained uninhabited since the times of the Marquises of Monferrato. Today it houses the Archaeological Museum that hosts a rich collection of ruins from the iron age, pre-roman, roman and Middle Ages.
Built in a Romanesque style with a central nave, two side aisles and an octagonal bell tower leaning against the south apse. It was the abbey church of the former monastery of St. Peter founded by a bishop in the 11th century on the site of a Paleo-Christian cemetery church. At the end of the 14th century, it became a Commendam. In 1720 it was rebuilt dividing its central nave and dedicated to the Vergine Addolorata.
- Church of San Francesco – Piazza San Francesco
Its façade is in a composite style (1835-1854) and the interior is made up of a nave and two aisles. The bell tower and apse date back to the 15th century. Inside are some remarkable paintings: The Conception of our Lady by Moncalvo, The Adoration of the Magi by Raffael A. Soleri and Our Lady with Baby Jesus between St. Francis and St. Anthony of Padova by Pietro Beccaria.
- Fondazione “Jona Ottolenghi”
Housed in the 16th century hospital of which three orders of loggias are still visible. Thanks to Count Arturo Ottolenghi and his wife Herta, the building was refurbished in 1934 entrusting the work to the Architect Marcello Piacentini. The decorations are work of the artists Ferruccio Ferrazzi and Fiore Martelli. In the garden the famous bronze statue of the “Prodigal Son” may be admired, opera by Arturo Martini
Is the central square of the city, crisscrossed with the picturesque terraced fountains of the “Water Lilies” that descend from Corso Viganò toward the middle of the square.
- The City Hall Palazzo Lupi
Built at the end of the 17th century by the Lupi of Moirano family, it then became property of the Jewish man Abraam Levi who donated it to the local council in 1910, hoping that it would become their seat, as it is today. Some rooms have preserved the elegant 18thcentury decorations, as the sala della Giunta which portrays beautiful ornamental panels depicted with Roman scenes. The tower and façade on Corso Roma date from the beginning of the 20th century.
- Villa Ottolenghi Wedekind
The construction for Villa Ottolenghi began by Counts Ottolenghi – Von Wedekind shortly after the First World War and was completed in 1953. The planners were Federico D’Amato, Marcello Piacentini and Ernesto Rapisardi. The landscape garden was assigned to Giuseppe Vaccario and Pietro Porcinai (in 2011 it was awarded with the prestigious European Garden award). The decoration of the interiors was carried out by Ferruccio Ferrazzi, who also painted the cartoons for the mausoleum mosaics.
The neo-classical-style Temple built in 1847, enhances the “bromine-iodine-sulphur” thermal spring that gushes out at a temperature of 19°C
The ruins of a large spa complex dating from imperial times were discovered in 1913 during the construction of a building next to the Grand Hotel Nuove Terme, that consist of a spacious pool for hot water (calidarium) originally entirely covered by marble slabs, surrounded by some rooms heated by the use of a hypocaust, an under-floor heating system. The water for the functioning of the system was carried directly through a conduit from the Bollente spring.
