This ancient village, which probably dates back to Roman times, was first recorded on a parchment written in 897. The bishops of Asti built one of the first castles to stand guard over the area here around the year 1000, but in 1221 they handed over feudal rights to the Commune of Asti. The village was then bound up in the destiny of Asti, under the Visconti family, and the Houses of Orleans and Savoy. The castle was destroyed in the sixteenth or seventeenth century during fighting between opposing factions. The monastery hosted Popes Alexander III and Urban III.

The ancient village of Azzano is situated in the low-lying sandy hills south of the river Tanaro, which crosses the area, a short distance from Asti (7 km). There is no industry in the Azzano, apart from quarrying along the river, and agriculture is in decline. The splitting up of large estates, the low profit on agricultural produce and the hilly terrain of the surrounding area are all negative factors for agriculture.

The Benedictine abbey of San Bartolomeo went back many centuries. It flourished and extended its power to many of the surrounding villages, where it administered the churches, and owned farming land and vineyards, watermills, fishing boats and ferries. In 1801 Napoleon suppressed monastic orders and the monastery was ransacked and destroyed: now all that is left of the abbey are records on ancient documents, and the gentle landscape of fields and vineyards.

EVENTS

Azzano’s Pro Loco Association is particularly active, putting on a succession of commemorations, sporting and gastronomic events all year round. The most important of these include the “Le pro-loco al castello”, prestigious gastronomic competition which is held in the castle of Costigliole d’Asti; the feast day of St. Giacomo, village patron saint, which is celebrated on the last Sunday in July; and the “Festival delle sagre”, held in September in Asti on the Sunday before the Palio.