Cerreto was originally part of the Asti area and the scribes of Asti called it Cerretum, Cerreta, Ceretto or Cerreto, indicating the oak woods (Cerus). It later passed to the Duchy of Savoy and was then contested by the Savoys and the Monferrato family, lying on the boundary between the two areas.
And indeed the presence of a hamlet in the area known as Sentinella is no coincidence.

You can reach Cerreto on the road from Gallareto to Aramengo or coming down from the road to Passerano, through Casaglio, past the Romanesque church dedicated to Sant’Andrea. All the surrounding countryside is woodland, with the breathtaking sandstone cliffs which reveal the geological secrets of this land.

AN ANECDOTE

There is a lovely little story about the village, which originally lay around what is now the back of the church. As the population expanded, people began building houses along via Inserra. Gradually most of the people moved and the church ended up being “the wrong way round”. What could be done?
In 1740 the church was “turned round” so its façade faced the community once more.