Olmo Gentile is the least populated comune in the province of Asti: a few houses on the ridge between the Langa and Liguria, crossed by the Tatorba. The name seems to come from the elm, once planted near holy places as a sign of protection, and the coat of arms bears this out: above, on red, a green elm torn up by the roots; below, on blue, a gold castle with merlons. The village first appears in a will of 1142 and grew along the salt and anchovy roads linking the Langhe to Liguria.
The square sandstone tower is the oldest part of the castle and probably goes back to the twelfth century: near the top, heavy projecting stone corbels must have held a walkway now gone. Beside it the residential block was built in 1681 for Carlo Antonio Gozani, bishop of Acqui, as his summer house; behind stood the servants' quarters, lived in until the nineteen-seventies. The gate of the fortified village fell in the middle of the twentieth century; its traces can still be read in the wall.
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
Near Olmo Gentile
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Places to see within 25 km
Outside Olmo Gentile, but an easy day trip away.