Description
At the junction of Via Roero and Corso Alfieri stands the so-called “Corner of the Three Kings”. Its name recalls the De Regibus family, who owned a defensive complex consisting of three towers: the Torretta, mentioned in 1589 but no longer standing, and the two towers that remain visible today.
The Torre De Regibus is the only surviving octagonal tower in Asti. Built in the Gothic style during the thirteenth century, it originally stood approximately 39 metres high, although only 27 metres remain today.
The tower had a plain shaft divided into three regularly arranged levels, marked by sandstone string courses and decorated with mullioned windows similar to those of the Torre Troyana. Distinctive Ghibelline swallow-tailed battlements crowned it.
Opposite stands the Torre Quartero. It takes its name from Lorenzo Quartero, an eighteenth-century knight who owned both the tower and the adjoining palace on Corso Alfieri, once known as the Via Maestra, or main street. During the Middle Ages, this tower also formed part of the De Regibus family’s defensive complex.
Since 2021, the tower has housed M.A.G.M.A.X., the Museo Astense di Geologia, Mineralogia, Arte Mineraria e Cristallografia — the Asti Museum of Geology, Mineralogy, Mining and Crystallography. Admission is free.
Created by the chemist Massimo Tomalino, it is described as Italy’s smallest mineral museum. Within just 20 square metres, it presents a fascinating scientific microcosm, set in the striking surroundings of the medieval tower.