Many books have been written about the long, complex, and eventful history of San Giorgio Monferrato, chronicling events from its distant origins to the present day—the same events that shaped the entire Monferrato region.
The village sits atop a hill, clustered around its castle, one of the oldest in the region, dating back to 859 AD. Its position is strategic, along the road connecting Casale Monferrato to Asti.
The earliest documents mentioning the village date to 999, and more explicitly in 1152, in a bull by Frederick Barbarossa confirming the castle’s ownership to a bishop of Vercelli. From that moment, the history of San Giorgio became intertwined with the noble families who succeeded one another from the 14th century, when the village is believed to have been organized as a free commune with clearly defined civil and criminal laws.
Between the 16th and 18th centuries, countless events took place, involving a wide array of figures and factions, including the House of Savoy, the Gonzaga, France, and Spain, often in conflict with one another. From the Napoleonic era onward, the village’s history mirrors that of the surrounding territory, with many detailed accounts available online for those wishing to explore further.
A defining feature of the village is, of course, its large castle. Its façade, richly adorned with windows, can be seen from afar. The castle, privately owned but open to visitors, now hosts a B&B and organizes musical evenings, aperitifs, and exhibitions that engage not only tourists but also the local community, who gather within the walls, on the terraces, and in the expansive panoramic gardens.
In the hanging courtyard stands a charming 18th-century Baroque chapel dedicated to Saint John, rectangular on the outside but curiously circular inside. The chapel has no decorations or frescoes, which were removed by the owners, and contains only an altar and a few wooden benches.
The main church of the village lies just below the castle, on the site where the 12th-century Church of Santa Maria once stood, which also served as a tribunal for the Inquisition. The current parish church, dedicated to Saint George the Martyr, was completed in 1767. It has a Greek cross plan with a single nave and an apse, and its construction took 39 years. The small Church of San Rocco, dating to 1570, is also part of the village but is currently shored up due to a collapsed vault.
