Santhià is a crossroads of the Vercelli plain, on the route between Vercelli, the Biella district and Turin. In Roman times it was called Vicus Viae Longae; today's name comes from Sancta Agatha, and under that name it appears in a document of 999, when Otto III granted bishop Leone of Vercelli several territories, including all the gold of the county of Sancte Agathe.
It stayed with the bishops of Vercelli until the Visconti conquest, and in 1377 it gave itself to Amedeo VI of Savoy, the Green Count. Between the Renaissance and the seventeenth century it was often a battlefield between French and Spanish. Between 30 April and 1 May 1945, with the war already over, a retreating German division stormed and sacked the town, killing some fifty partisans and civilians.
castello di Vettignè · collegiata di Sant'Agata
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Next up: Saint Agatha and Piedmont's oldest carnival, Friday 5 February
Nearest airport: Torino Caselle, 44 km away
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📅 Every year, on 5 February
On 5 February Santhià celebrates Saint Agatha in its collegiate church; the town also hosts the Carnevale Storico di Santhià, Piedmont's oldest carnival, documented since at least 1328.
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Santhià, but an easy day trip away.
