Cuneo Attractions

In southern Piedmont is an interesting town, Cuneo (535m/1,766ft; pop. 56,000), beautifully situated on a wedge-shaped plateau above the junction of the rivers Gesso and Stura di Demonte. In the center of the town is a large arcaded square, the Piazza D. Galimberti, lying on the town's main traffic artery, formed by Via Roma and Corso Nizza in the newer southwestern part of the town. The cathedral, in Via Roma, has a Neo-Classical facade. Farther north, in Piazza Virginio, are the Loggia dei Mercanti (14th century, restored) and the former Franciscan church (now a warehouse), in Late Romanesque transitional style (1227) with a Gothic tower (1399) and a doorway of 1481. Nearby is the church of Santa Croce, on an elliptical ground-plan (1715). The Municipal Museum (Museo Civico) contains numerous prehistoric and Roman finds. From the promenades on the line of the old fortifications there are fine views of the Alps.