Golosaria among the Castles of Monferrato — Piovà Massaia stop

Piovà Massaia, a high-density cultural village

Nestled in the hills of the Monferrato area in the province of Asti, Piovà Massaia is a small town of just over 570 inhabitants that, during Golosaria among the Castles of Monferrato, reveals itself to be much larger than its size suggests. For an entire weekend, the village opens its palaces, churches, and exhibition spaces, offering a route that organizers love to define as "a high-density cultural village."

The event is part of the extensive Golosaria circuit, created by the Club Papillon, which every spring involves dozens of villages and castles in Monferrato to celebrate the best of Italian food and wine. Piovà Massaia is one of the most surprising stops, as it combines fine dining with a cultural and historical heritage revolving around an extraordinary figure.

Tracing the steps of Cardinal Guglielmo Massaia

The village's most famous resident is Cardinal Guglielmo Massaia (1809-1889), born Lorenzo Antonio Massaia, a Capuchin friar and missionary in Ethiopia for thirty-five years. His bond with the town was so strong that in 1940, his surname was added to the place name, creating the current Piovà Massaia. The event's itinerary follows the traces of this remarkable figure.

The Town Hall houses the Educational and Cultural Laboratory for the Monferrato territory, where a virtual figure of the Cardinal guides visitors through interactive spaces equipped with QR codes and multimedia glasses, recounting both his biography and the history of Monferrato through virtual reality.

Palaces and scattered exhibitions

The exhibition heart of the village is the Palazzo dei Marchesi Ricci, in Piazza Don Borio, which hosts the evocative Giardino di Illeana and a series of exhibitions: the historical reconstruction of the School of Teacher Clarin, the exhibition Monfrà Stories – the territory through its people, and, in recent editions, the Gypsum – The Gypsum of Monferrato exhibition, set up in the spaces of the former parish cinema.

The route also includes the Parish Church of Saints Peter and George, which can be visited individually or via guided tours. The collection of exhibition offerings has led Piovà Massaia to host up to seven exhibitions during the event, a remarkable number for a village of this size.

Dining with the flavors of Monferrato

The food and wine experience is managed by the Pizzeria Bocciofila, in Piazza San Martino, which offers tasting menus featuring Monferrato recipes and ingredients. Specialties include the mixed boiled meat salad, the event's signature dish, alongside options like Roman-style pinsa (including gluten-free versions) and desserts featuring mint, a historic local crop.

An unmissable event in the Asti Monferrato

The Piovà Massaia stop demonstrates how Golosaria successfully highlights the small centers of Monferrato in the province of Asti, transforming them for a weekend into cultural and gastronomic destinations of great appeal. Culture, history, virtual reality, and fine cuisine coexist in a village that deserves to be discovered at a leisurely pace, strolling through its palaces and squares.