Chieri Landscapes

The concept of landscape was created in Italy, a harmonious fusion of nature and culture. Chieri also possesses a large capital of beauty and natural biodiversity, some of it now altered and eroded. It is an area rich in visible elements that are an integral part of the history and culture of its inhabitants, ideal for “slow” and intelligent tourism. The area is along a stretch of the Via Francigena, between the city and the southern aspects of the Turin hills, looking towards the Asti and Monferrato areas, the high plain of Poirino and beyond to Roero and the Langhe. It is a territory “looking for an author”. The idea of an “integral landscape” is well affirmed, with infinite actors where we are from time to time the known subject and the known object within our surroundings (seen, photographed, understood etc). A landscape lives through relationships: The Arignano Lake with it’s hilly vineyards; the residual woods; the field hedges; the Roman churches with castles and hillside villages; the Chiocciola ( literally, “the snail”)- the icon of the historic centre of Chieri, with the marvellous flights of swallows; the church bells sounding throughout the land from the 14^th century bells of San Giorgio.