Underground Alba: a journey to the center of the city

The past lies under your feet!

Discover the underground history of the city with an archaeologist!

THE PROJECT 

The “Underground Alba” project was launched in Spring 2011. It is administrated by the association “Ambiente & Cultura” and co-ordinated by the Museum “F. Eusebio” of Alba, with the patronage of the Ministry of Culture and of the Archaeological Superintendence of Piedmont and MAE. The 2013 profits have been reallocated in the restoration of the Mastodont of Verduno, a fossil
partially destroyed by an illegal excavation, and to the safeguard of Tanaro river paleontological heritage. 

Since the time of Alba Pompeia (that was the name of the city during the Roman age), the historical centre of the city has seen a sequence of generations of town, belonging to different civilizations, one after the other, in the same place .  The medieval town grew up on the ruins pertaining to the Roman period, the modern town took its place without cancelling it completely, and so on, we arrived at today’s town that still retains the urban shape of Alba Pompeia. Many things have remained in the heart of the  underground city as evidence of the past two thousand years of history. A few meters below the streets and the sidewalks, there are fragments of lost cities which constitute the rich heritage of the F. Eusebio Museum and of the archaeological and architectural city path. The ancient temple, the roman age theatre and main square, the first baptismal font, the lost medieval towers…

TO DOWLOAD THE FLYER WITH ALL INFORMATION, PLEASE CLICK HERE: PIEGHEVOLE ENG

Groups can request any date on booking.

Visit path

The Underground Alba path is a walking tour with a professional archaeologist to discover Alba’s underground roots. The itinerary will vary according to the day selected. The journey foresees to reach 3 of the 32 archaeological and monumental sites of the city and it ends in the museum that houses the fossils of the Mastodont of Verduno and the Whale of Alba.

The visit will take approximately one and a half to two hours on foot in the city to the three underground archaeological sites.

At the end free visit to the 20 rooms of the “Eusebio” museum.

For more informations feel free to use the menu in the upper right corner of the page or the list of topics at the bottom.

WHEN AND WHERE

Click here to see available dates. Tours regularly run all year long every first and third saturday and every second and fourth sunday of each month. Tours may run for special festivities and occasions.

Tours are available for private and school groups any day with prior reservation. To make a reservation email us at info@ambientecultura.it.

The tours will start in front of the City Hall/Tourist office, in Piazza Risorgimento n. 1 or 2, Alba (aka Piazza del Duomo).

Click here for a map of the meeting point.

Click here to download the brochure of Underground Alba tour.

NEXT DATES

Tours in Italian with written translations in English

• JULY Saturday 6, Sunday 14, Saturday 20, Sunday 28
• AUGUST Saturday 3, Sunday 4, Saturday 10 (San Lorenzo), Sunday 11, Thursday 15 (Ferragosto), Friday 16, Saturday 17, Sunday 18, Sunday 25, Saturday 31
• SEPTEMBER Saturday 7, Sunday 8, Saturday 21, Sunday 22, Saturday 28, Sunday 29
• OCTOBER Saturday 5, Sunday 6, Saturday 12, Sunday 13, Saturday 19, Sunday 20, Saturday 26, Sunday 27
• NOVEMBER Friday 1, Saturday 2, Sunday 3, Saturday 9, Sunday 10, Saturday 16, Sunday 17, Saturday 23, Sunday 24, Saturday 30
• DECEMBER Sunday 1, Saturday 7, Sunday 8, Sunday 22, Saturday 29, Sunday 30

Click here to reserve a date online.

Tours led in English

• JULY and AUGUST every Monday morning at 11:00 am.

Click here to reserve a date online.

THE CITY GAME

On scheduled dates for Underground Alba, you can also have fun exploring the art and history of the historical city center of Alba thanks to The City Game. This adventure is composed of two parts: the Hunt for Clues Through the City Streets and the Games Church. If you complete both of them, you win the Territory Treasure Chest.

GIFTS AND REWARDS

In addition to the ticket for the Civic museum F. Eusebio, tour participants can take advantage of a one-euro discount for the bell tower of San Giuseppe church, a panoramic point in the city. Admission is not guided and only possible during the church’s opening hours. In addition to the view, visitors can admire the art of this XVII-century church.
Participants will receive an archeomap at the beginning of their tour. This special map contains the entire archeological route, a useful tool for your visit. At the end of the tour, you can pick up a publication tied to the territory at San Giuseppe church.
To view every gift and reward, click here.

THE LAST STAGE: THE CIVIC MUSEUM FEDERICO EUSEBIO

Every tour ends at the civic museum of archeology and natural sciences, Federico Eusebio. This museum hosts the River Tanaro Treasures exhibition which contains fossils of the Verduno mastodon (5.5 million years old) and the Alba Whale (8 million years old), discovered along the riverbanks of the Tanaro river. The museum also has 23 different rooms dedicated to the prehistoric, Roman archeological ruins and natural sciences.
The Underground Alba ticket includes a ticket to the museum. At the end of the guided tour, visitors have free access to over 23 rooms in the civic museum, until closing time.

More details?

• FLYER/BROCHURE
• BOOKING
• CONTACTS
• WHEN & WHERE
• COSTS AND UNDERGROUND ALBA PROFITS REALLOCATIONS 
• GIVEAWAY AND BENEFITS
• “FEDERICO EUSEBIO” MUSEUM