Canelli

Canelli has a long wine-making history.

Some say it was the Liguri who planted the first vineyards, some others give the merit to the Romans, but it’s sure that grapes were already grown here in the year 1000.

Canelli is famous for the sparkling wines; the labels of the main producers are visible near the Gancia castle, that dominates the old part of the town.

A fancy-dress fair takes place every year, on the third weekend in June, to remember the siege that Canelli endured in 1613.

History

Thanks to its position the town of Canelli was already rather important in the Roman era.

Around the year 961 its name is for the first time included in the list of the royal properties in Piedmont.

The influence of Asti and Alessandria over this town became stronger and stronger as time went by, and later was a problem for the Savoia.

In 1707 Vittorio Amedeo II extended his power over the whole of Piedmont, and Canelli no longer had to be a fortress.

Troubled by many wars, during which the castle and fortifications had been destroyed many times, the town was once again knocked down in 1617 by the marquis of Mortara, who destroyed the castle and the fortifications in leaving Canelli to the soldiers of Carlo Emanuele I.

The castle was later rebuilt, after 1706, by the counts Galeani, in the same place as the old one.

After the French domination and the end of the customs between the Communes, Canelli became a wealthy wine-selling place: at the beginning of the nineteenth century the first cellars were founded, and around 1830 the wines from Canelli started being appreciated abroad.