Directions:
From Malpensa Airport, follow the exit road to E 62. Follow the signs towards Milano, E 62 merges with A7. Follow the signs towards Genoa and take the Alessandria exit and enter A 21 towards Torino - and Asti. Get off the autostrada at Asti Est (East), pay the toll and turn east again on Via Alessandria and continue towards the village of Quarto. Just before you are about to enter Quarto, turn left where the signs point to Portacamaro and Scurzelengo. The road crosses UNDER the autostrada you just left. Continue app. 300 m. until you get to a sign that says RITA – the local hairdresser. Here the road turns sharply to the right. Follow the road across the field and ascend the winding road up the hill.. up, up until you see two houses on the very top – yellow with green shutters.

From Torino/Turin Airport (near Caselle), follow the exit road to E 25. Follow E 25 until it merges with A21/E 70 and follow the signs to Asti, Savonna and Genoa. Get off the autostrada at Asti Est (East), pay the toll and turn east again on Via Alessandria and continue towards the village of Quarto. Just before you are about to enter Quarto, turn left where the signs point to Portacamaro and Scurzelengo. The road crosses UNDER the autostrada you just left. Continue app. 300 m. until you get to a sign that says RITA – the local hairdresser. Here the road turns sharply to the right. Follow the road across the field and ascend the winding road up the hill.. up, up until you see two houses on the very top - yellow with green shutters.

Taxi Transfer
If you would like to be met by a private driver, Roberto can greet you at the airport with his Mercedes. He meets at Milano (Malpensa and Linate) and takes you to Cascina Desderi in style for € 140, and at Torino for € 100. You pay him directly (no credit cards). Avis has an office in Asti. If you want to rent a car while staying at Cascina Desderi we gladly assist you with the rental.

Distances:
Asti is the ideal starting point to discover all of Piedmont and major parts of Northern Italy, France and Switzerland. If you choose to only drive around to experience the small and quaint villages of Piedmont or take longer road trips, Cascina Desderi offers an excellent location with its proximity to the Asti East entrance to the Autostrada – a mere 10 minutes from the cascina.

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Radius 1 – under 100 km. surrounding Asti:
From Cascina Desderi you can drive due north on the narrow local road and discover a magnitude of villages and hilltop towns on your way to f. ex. Casale Monferrato – small and quaint hamlets lying like pearls on a string along the country roads; Refrancore, Castagnole, Viarigi, Montemagno and Moncalvo – Italy’s smallest city with city status. You can also drive along the Strada di Vina – the wine road – and visit vineyards. If you turn west towards Alba, the winding roads lead you to Barolo and Barbaresco – and you are in the heart of the wine kingdom of Barolo. If you choose a southerly route, the road takes you to Isola, Montegrosso, Castelnuovo, Calamandrana – ending in the charming market town of Nizza Monferrato. If you decide to proceed and drive through the rolling vine covered hills you will eventually end up in Aqui Terme – an old Roman village renown for its hot springs and spa hotels. If you choose to stay one week at Cascina Desderi (minimum), you can select a new itinerary each day and discover new villages, vineyards and ever changing nature and scenery every day.

Radius 2 – more than 100 km. surrounding Asti
If you drive west to Torino you will be driving towards the French Alps where super G and slalom will have its venue during the 2004 Winter Olympics. If you turn north you will soon enter Valle d’Aosta, the valley in the most wonderful Alpine heartland. Mont Blanc – called Monte Bianco in Italian, is stretching 4810 m. towards the sky, while Monte Corvino and Monte Rosso with 4478 and 4633 meters respectively, offer an unparalleled Alpine panorama. The Italians are proud of their mountains, so proud that they have an own museum dedicated to mountains in Torino. If you choose a northeasterly route, you end up in the Italian Lake District with beauties like Lago Maggiore and Lago d’Orta. Due east you find Lago di Garda, but then you have entered the next state; Lombardia. If you turn you nose in the southerly direction you will be crossing the impressive Appennino Ligure, the mountain ridge separating Piedmont from Liguria. The long Ligurian coastline is known for its quaint villages and sandy beaches wonderfully situated between cliffs and mountains and flowery meadows. Savonna is the nearest coastal city. From here the coastal road takes you along the flower coast to San Remo and France. If you turn east, the road takes you to Genoa (110 km from Asti) – and the Riviera Levante. Here famous villages like Santa Margeritha Ligure, Porto Fino and Cinqueterre lie like pearls on a string – then you have, however, moved more than 100 km from Asti – and it takes time to navigate on the narrow and winding roads, at least in the high season (August) when the lines can be long.
A tour to Milan does not take long on the Autostrada, only 118 km away.

Radius 3 – more than 200 km surrounding Asti
On the autostrada you can cover a long distance during short time – Nice and Cannes only takes a couple of hours while Geneva and Montreaux take a little longer. Below please find some distances from Asti to popular cities in Italy:
Verona: 270 km
Bologna: 275 km
Florence: 340 km
Venice: 360 km

For more distances, check maps at www.yahoo.com

Trains:
Asti Railway Station is close by, so train journeys is highly recommended. Cascina Desderi can arrange Italian rail passes at price advantageous and competitive rates. Prices as follows:

Trenitalia Pass Saver: 1st Class 2nd Class
4 rail days within 2 months: € 165 € 135
Extra per rail day (max 6): € 16 € 13
(To qualify for this special rate, 2 persons have to travel together at all times)

Trenitalia Pass:
4 rail days within 2 months: € 195 € 155
Extra per rail day (max): € 20 € 16
(For 1 or more persons)

If you advise us of your name and age and the type of rail pass you want to book minimum 14 days prior to arrival, the rail pass will be waiting and ready for you when checking into Cascina Desdseri.