Festival del Medioevo Astese
A late-September festival about Asti in the Middle Ages, run by the Comune since 2024: lectures and conferences with historians, exhibitions, concerts and guided walks through medieval Asti, mostly in the Complesso di San Pietro and all free.
Why it's special
Asti's medieval merchants and money-lenders, the 'Lombardi', did business across Europe, and the festival was born to tell that story: its first edition in 2024 was titled 'Astigiani mercanti d'Europa'. Each year historians from Italian and foreign universities speak in the medieval rooms of San Pietro, alongside exhibitions, organ and choral music, and guided walks through medieval Asti.
Programme · 2026
3rd edition, with a Franciscan theme.
- All talks and concerts have been free, while seats last; the talks are in Italian.
- The guided walks 'Asti Medievale' run by the Langhe Monferrato Roero tourist office are the easiest way in for visitors: in 2026 they left from the office in Piazza Alfieri on 25 and 26 September at 16:00 and 27 September at 10:30, booked online on visitlmr.it.
- The exhibitions stay open on weekends for a few weeks after the festival (in 2026 until 18 and 25 October).
In the Middle Ages Asti was, in the Comune's words, an important point of reference at European level, and its businessmen, the money-lenders and merchants known as 'Lombardi', traded and lent far beyond Piedmont. The Comune launched the Festival del Medioevo Astese in 2024 to tell this story. The first edition, 'Astigiani mercanti d'Europa', looked at fairs, cities and merchants.
The festival is mainly talks: a guest lecture to open, a conference with historians from Italian and foreign universities, and book presentations, mostly held in the Complesso di San Pietro, with its baptistery and the Cappella Valperga. Around them come exhibitions, concerts of organ, choral and early music, and guided walks through medieval Asti. The theme changes each year: chivalry and the Palio for the 750th anniversary of the race in 2025, St Francis and the economics of the Franciscans in 2026.
For visitors without Italian, the guided walks and the exhibitions are the best way in; the lectures suit those who follow medieval history closely. The Collegiata di San Secondo, the Museo Diocesano San Giovanni and the Biblioteca Astense also host events. See what else there is to do in Asti.
More events in Monferrato in September 2026 →
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Past editions
| Year | Dates | Programme |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 23–27 September 2026 | 3rd edition, with a Franciscan theme. Wed 23 Sep, 18:00 – Lecture by Maria Giuseppina Muzzarelli on credit for the poor from St Francis to today's working poor, Complesso di San Pietro, Cappella Valperga Thu 24 Sep, 15:30 – Conference 'Secundum Deum et rectam civilitatem. Francescani, comunità, economia', Cappella Valperga Thu 24 Sep, 18:00 – Opening of Gabriele Picello's photography exhibition on medieval Asti, Baptistery of San Pietro (weekends until 25 Oct) Fri 25 Sep, 18:00 – Exhibition 'A scuola con gli antichi' on teaching from the Middle Ages to the early modern age, refectory of the Seminario Vescovile (weekends until 18 Oct) Fri 25 Sep, 21:00 – Organ concert by Emanuele Colosetti, Collegiata di San Secondo Sat 26 Sep, 11:00 – Davide Chiolero presents his short history of medieval food, Biblioteca Astense Sun 27 Sep, 17:00 – Talk on the goldsmith Materniganus de Filipis and his 1447 monstrance, Museo Diocesano San Giovanni 25–27 Sep – Guided walks 'Asti Medievale' from Piazza Alfieri Sun 4 Oct, 16:00 – Closing show 'Francesco sulla strada' by the Teatro degli Acerbi, Complesso di San Pietro |
| 2025 | 25–28 September 2025 | 2nd edition, in the year of the Palio's 750th anniversary, opened the week before by a lecture from Franco Cardini; a spring preview of six book talks ran in April and May. Thu 25 Sep, 17:30 – Conference 'Il Medioevo immaginario nel teatro musicale', the Middle Ages in opera, Sala Pastrone Fri 26 Sep, 15:30 – Conference 'Santi, cavalieri, cortesie, audaci imprese' on Asti and chivalry, Complesso di San Pietro Fri 26 Sep, 18:00 – Exhibition 'Medioevo e graphic novel: Martino di Loreto' by Renato Bordone and Luigi Piccatto, Complesso di San Pietro (extended to 16 Nov) Sat 27 Sep, 11:00 – 'Come il cinema ricostruisce la Storia: il Medioevo', Biblioteca Astense Concert 'Iubilate Deo. 1300' by La Ghironda and the Coro Laeti Cantores Thu 6 Nov, 17:30 – Extra lecture on San Secondo in the tomb of Azzone Visconti in Milan, Complesso di San Pietro |
| 2024 | From 17 September 2024 | 1st edition, 'Astigiani mercanti d'Europa: fiere, città e mercanti'. 17 Sep – International conference with Franco Cardini, Giuseppe Sergi and Marino Zabbia Exhibition 'Fiere, città e mercanti (1350–1600)' at the Archivio Storico di Asti, curated with the CoMOR, extended with guided visits until 30 November |