Anywhere Italy
00 Moncalvo
Stemma di Moncalvo

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.

Best time
Apr–Oct
By car
1 h 14 min from Turin
By train
Station in the comune
Population
2,730

Known for

  • SMALLEST CITY

    Granted city status by the Gonzaga in 1705 and the Savoy in 1775; 2,730 residents now carry the title.

  • TARTUFO BIANCO

    Five-century truffle tradition; the Fiera Nazionale del Tartufo runs the last three weekends of October.

  • IL MONCALVO

    Guglielmo Caccia, the Counter-Reformation painter born here in 1568, left major canvases in San Francesco and Sant'Antonio.

  • DOCG ZONES

    The commune lies inside the Barbera d'Asti and Barbera del Monferrato Superiore DOCG production zones.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

  • J8°
  • F12°
  • M14°
  • A18°
  • M22°
  • J27°
  • J30°
  • A30°
  • S24°
  • O19°
  • N12°
  • D8°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

The festa: Antonio di Padova, 13 June

Why come

Moncalvo sits on 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.

The Sunday letter

Moncalvo is on our list. Its letter is still to come.

We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Moncalvo comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Moncalvo in our articles

How to get there

From Turin (TRN), about 1h 20m by car.

Genoa (GOA) is about 1h 38m away.

By car from the centre of Milan 1h 39m.

There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.

Coming from Turin, Milan or Genoa?

Coming by train into Torino Porta Susa? Moncalvo is about 1h 14m away by road.

Every town within reach of Turin airport.

Moncalvo, photo 1
Moncalvo, photo 2

What to see

  • 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.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Moncalvo fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

Through the year

What happens here

Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.

  • His Majesty the Fat Ox's National Fairmarket

    usually held in February. sagritaly.com

Living here

  • Population 2,730
  • Commuter belti
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Turin, 1 h 20 min drive
  • Regional capital Torino, 1 h 14 min drive

Common questions

What is Moncalvo known for?
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.
Where is Moncalvo?
Moncalvo is a comune in the province of Asti, in Piedmont, at 305 meters above sea level.
What is the nearest airport to Moncalvo?
Turin (TRN), about 1h 20m by car.
Can you get to Moncalvo without a car?
Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
How long is the drive from Milan to Moncalvo?
About 1h 39m by car.
When is the best time to visit Moncalvo?
Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Moncalvo?
Yes. His Majesty the Fat Ox's National Fair. February is when the first of them falls.
Which other towns are like Moncalvo?
Donnas, Vogogna and Campello sul Clitunno.
How many people live in Moncalvo?
2,730 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 305 m
  • Population: 2,730
  • Surface area: 17.42 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

Similar

Towns like Moncalvo

🟠 Bandiera Arancione

More Bandiera Arancione towns in Piedmont