Description
Palazzo Alfieri, on present-day Corso Alfieri, is a medieval building that was remodelled around 1738. The work is generally attributed to the architect Benedetto Alfieri, who lived from 1701 to 1767 and was a cousin of Vittorio Alfieri.
The palace is best known as the birthplace of the poet and dramatist Vittorio Alfieri, who was born here on 16 January 1749.
In 1901, the building was purchased by Count Leonetto Ottolenghi, who commissioned its restoration. In 1903, he donated it to the Municipality of Asti, intending it to become a centre dedicated to preserving the city’s cultural and historical heritage.
Since 1937, the palace has been home to the Centro Nazionale di Studi Alfieriani, the National Centre for Alfieri Studies.
Located on the piano nobile, the Alfieri Museum includes the historic apartment and the room in which the poet was born, both furnished with eighteenth-century pieces. The museum explores Alfieri’s life, literary work and enduring reputation on the stage.
The palace's former cellars also house the Eugenio Guglielminetti Foundation. Its collection includes sculptures and stage designs created by the Asti-born artist, who was a painter, sculptor and stage designer, as well as a pupil of Felice Casorati.
The exhibition documents Guglielminetti’s career across theatre, music, dance and television.
Opposite the palace lies Piazza Fratelli Cairoli, a semicircular square created in the early twentieth century at the initiative of Leonetto Ottolenghi. To make space for it, the Count arranged for several existing houses to be demolished, allowing the equestrian monument to King Umberto I to be erected.
The bronze sculpture, created by Odoardo Tabacchi, stands on a marble base flanked by allegorical figures representing Valour and Compassion.
The square was inaugurated in 1903 and was originally named after the King. It received its present name in 1944.