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!

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… Join a professional archaeologist and discover the city’s underground roots!

Under the patronage of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of Piedmont since 2012.

THE VISIT

The Underground Alba tour is led by a professional archaeologist and follows an itinerary that includes a selection of three stops from among the 32 total stops on the city’s archaeological trail, plus a final stop at the F. Eusebio Civic Museum. The itineraries vary from date to date, with the different underground stops included on a rotating basis. The tour lasts between one and a half and two hours. Foot transfers between the underground sites takes place above ground and offers the opportunity to enjoy significant views of the historic center. For detailed information, use the menu in the top right corner (desktop version), or click on the item that interests you from the list of links at the bottom of this page (mobile version).

ATTENTION!! DURING JULY, THE FEDERICO EUSEBIO CIVIC MUSEUM IS CLOSED FOR WORKS AND IS NOT ACCESSIBLE. The alternative stop is the San Giuseppe Church, with a guided tour of the museum sections and the opportunity to climb the bell tower with a discounted ticket (€1).

WHEN

Open all year round on ordinary dates (every second and fourth Sunday and every first and third Saturday of the month), plus many other extraordinary dates to coincide with the city’s main events and public holidays! Here are the upcoming dates for scheduled tours. Tours in Italian with written translations in English

• JULY: Saturday 4th, Sunday 12th, Saturday 18th, Sunday 26th
• AUGUST: Saturday 1st, Sunday 2nd, Sunday 9th, Monday 10th, Thursday 13th, Friday 14th, Saturday 15th, Sunday 16th, Monday 17th, Tuesday 18th, Sunday 23rd, Sunday 30th
• SEPTEMBER: Saturday 5th, Sunday 13th, Saturday 19th, Sunday 20th, Saturday 26th, Sunday 27th
• OCTOBER and NOVEMBER: every Saturday and Sunday (on the occasion of the Alba International Truffle Fair)
• DECEMBER: Saturday 5th, Sunday 6th, Monday 7th, Tuesday 8th (Immaculate Conception), Sunday 13th, Saturday 19th, Sunday 27th, Thursday 31st

Tours led in English

• Every morning morning from 6th July to 31st August 2026

Click here to select the date you’re interested in from the chronological list of all events and book online. PLEASE NOTE: Visits are also possible on any date for groups and school parties, or for private tours, subject to advance booking. In this case, please email info@ambientecultura.it.

WHERE

From 1st March until 8th December, the meeting point is in front of the Town Hall/Tourist Office, at Piazza Risorgimento 1 or 2 in Alba. For winter dates after 8th December, the meeting point moves inside the Church of San Giuseppe, at Via Vernazza 6 in Alba, less than 100 metres’ walk from the tourist office.

TICKET PRICES, LEAFLET AND POSTER

For information on prices and payment methods for the tour, click here. To download the leaflet/reminder containing all the information and the poster in various formats, click here.

GIFTS & BENEFITS

The Underground Alba Sotterranea ticket includes the following complimentary offers and benefits:

• Free admission to the F. Eusebio Civic Museum. Visitors may explore its 23 rooms and three sections (prehistoric and Roman archaeology, natural sciences) at their leisure during the museum’s opening hours. They may leave and re-enter on the same day, or use the free admission on a later date, by showing their Alba Sotterranea ticket. The free admission is valid for one visit only. It is valid until 31 December of the current year.
• Reduced price (1 euro) to climb the bell tower of San Giuseppe, the city’s panoramic viewpoint, which can be visited up to the bell floor.
• A free ‘archaeological map’ – a special map showing the entire archaeological route (32 stops), with Roman and medieval sites overlaid on a map of the current historic centre – to mark which underground sites you have visited (the routes vary from day to day) and to explore the freely accessible surface sites at your own pace.
• Lots of other freebies & benefits – to discover them all, click here.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) and Accessibility for People with Disabilities

• For information on accessibility for people with disabilities, click here.
• For the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) – such as ‘Can I bring a stroller?’, ‘Are dogs allowed?’ – please click here to read the detailed answers to the most common queries.

RELATED ACTIVITIES

We invite you to discover our other offerings and upcoming events:

• The Clue Hunt through the city streets is a photographic treasure hunt featuring riddles and historical and artistic facts at key locations in the historic centre; it can be combined with the underground tour on the same day.
• The Photography Oasis 2026, a nature photography course at the Oasi dei Canapali in Magliano Alfieri.
• The Oasis of the Spirit. Tai Chi and Qi Gong in nature at the Oasi dei Canapali in Magliano Alfieri.

THE ‘UNDERGROUND ALBA’ PROJECT AND THE ALLOCATION OF PROFITS

Underground Alba is a project by Ambiente & Cultura, launched in 2011 to promote the F. Eusebio Civic Museum, under the patronage of MIBAC, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities. Ambiente & Cultura is an association of young graduates formed in 2010 around the Federico Eusebio Civic Museum in Alba. The operating surplus is allocated to projects aimed at safeguarding the environmental and cultural heritage of the local area. To find out what has been achieved over the years thanks to the support of visitors, and what we would still like to do, click here and discover all our projects. To watch the television report by correspondent Massimo Mignanelli, which was broadcast on RAI UNO during the 8.00 pm edition of Tg1 on 17 April 2015, click here. To discover the Touring Club guide Meraviglie Sotterranee d’Italia, in which our project has been included alongside Italy’s most important underground sites, click here.

MORE DETAILS

For full details, click on the item you’re interested in from the list below (mobile), or use the menu at the top right (desktop).

• FLYER/BROCHURE
• BOOKING
• CONTACTS
• WHEN & WHERE
• INFORMATION ON THE PEDESTRIAN AREA AND PARKING
• COSTS AND UNDERGROUND ALBA PROFITS REALLOCATIONS 
• GIVEAWAY AND BENEFITS
• “FEDERICO EUSEBIO” MUSEUM