Penango: Cycling Stage, Churches and Local History

Penango combines a cycling stage with a local history whose points of reference span different periods. Stage 6A starts at Penango station; in the small town center, the parish church of San Grato dominates the townscape. San Vittore in Cioccaro, the former Salesian College and an obelisk add to the historic themes. This makes it possible to understand Penango both through a specific route detail and through its buildings and the history of its institutions.

Cycling Stage and Road Connection

Stage 6A of the “Cammini delle alte colline ombrose e delle colline chiare” cycling route starts at Penango station and is 6.60 km long. After less than 300 meters, it reaches the church of San Vittore and passes alongside it. The distance figures refer to different sections: the church is less than 300 meters away, while the entire stage covers 6.60 kilometers. San Vittore can therefore be understood as an early point of reference on the route, without confusing the short stretch with the total distance. For trip planning, the stage provides a named starting point and a specific length.

Penango lies on Provincial Road No. 457, the former state road connecting Asti and Casale Monferrato. This road information provides a different point of orientation from the stage: it identifies a road connection and its former classification, while the cycling route is described by its starting point, its passage by San Vittore and its total length.

San Grato and San Vittore

In the small town center, the parish church of San Grato dominates the townscape. It was rebuilt in the 18th century to a design by architect Francesco Ottavio Magnocavallo. The church contains paintings by Guglielmo Caccia. The same building thus brings together its 18th-century reconstruction, its named architect and paintings by an artist. San Grato is therefore both an architectural and an art-historical point of reference.

Magnocavallo was also involved in rebuilding the church of San Vittore in the hamlet of Cioccaro. San Vittore was built on an existing Romanesque ground plan. The building details emphasize different aspects: for San Grato, the focus is on its 18th-century reconstruction; for San Vittore, on the existing Romanesque ground plan. The architect they share connects the two churches, while the building details mentioned for each offer their own historical points of reference.

Historic Milestones of the Town

The Salesian College, named after Pope Pius V, was inaugurated on June 6, 1880. It had an elementary school and a lower secondary school; private courses were also offered and open to external students. In 1924, the College was converted into a missionary preparatory seminary. It closed after the 1965/66 school year. The former building complex was demolished in the summer of 1978. In this sequence, the institution’s changing use and the end of the building should be distinguished: the educational offerings were followed by the conversion, closure and, later, demolition. The history of the institution can thus be traced through its changes and chronology.

Another dated point of reference is Penango’s war memorial. It takes the form of an obelisk and was inaugurated on September 4, 1921. This date can be set alongside the College’s inauguration in 1880; the two mark different milestones in the town’s history.

The name Penango is thought to have appeared for the first time in a document from 961. Penango also became administratively independent and separated from Moncalvo. The presumed early mention of the name and the town’s administrative independence add another perspective on its development to the history of its buildings and institutions.

Discover more destinations: Castelnuovo Belbo, Montegrosso D'asti, Rocchetta Tanaro, Castelletto Molina, Portacomaro, Cornalea, Revigliasco D'asti, Roccaverano.

For the regional travel overview: Asti.