The patron saint of Pontinvrea is Saint Lawrence, celebrated on 10 August. The parish church dedicated to him, built in the 17th century along the town's main street, has a Baroque façade and stands next to the marquisal palace, today home to the town hall.
Recorded in ancient documents under the name Astoraria, the town was long tied to the fief of Pareto, which owned it from the 11th century. It was under the rule of the Invrea family that today's town of Pontinvrea was born, with the building of the marquisal palace, the parish church of San Lorenzo and the church of the Madonna del Carmine, the latter dating from the 18th century and located along the road to Colle del Giovo. In 1713, following the War of the Spanish Succession, the territory of the state of Monferrato was annexed to the Duchy of Savoy, formalised from 1720; on the death without male heirs of the last marquis-feudal lord, Antoniotto II Invrea, the property passed in 1730 to his nephew Gio Battista Imperiale and was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia. In the hamlet of Giovo Ligure lie today the remains of six 19th-century forts built along the road giving access to Piedmont, including Fort Tagliata del Giovo, which during the Second World War was the seat of the San Marco regiment of the Italian Social Republic.
