L'Assedio di Canelli
For one June weekend Canelli's old town falls back to 1613, when the town withstood the Savoy siege — a costumed reenactment of markets, soldiers, music and street theatre filling the historic borgo.
Why it's special
One of Piedmont's great historical reenactments: the whole hillside old town becomes a 17th-century borgo, with hundreds in period costume, the staged contest between the Gonzaga and Savoy, and a night fire show. Not a museum display — a living town for two days.
Programme · 2026
- Wear good shoes — the borgo is on the hill and the action moves through steep lanes.
- Come for the evening: the staged contest and the fire show in Piazza San Leonardo are the highlights.
In 1613 Canelli held out against the Duke of Savoy's army — and every summer the town remembers it by climbing back into the 17th century.
For a weekend the steep old borgo above the modern town fills with market stalls, soldiers, musicians, street performers, farmers and nobles in period dress. There are osterie pouring the local wine, historic processions, and staged scenes — the contest between the Gonzaga and the Savoy, a mock market theft, a tug-of-war — building to an evening fire show in Piazza San Leonardo. It is one of Piedmont's most ambitious historical reenactments, and unusually immersive: the whole quarter becomes the set.
The reenactment ties directly to the hilltop Castello di Canelli and the walled upper town — walk up through the borgo while it's in character. Dates shift year to year (a June weekend); check the village page and the sources for the current edition's programme.