the other big fall festival was established in 1974 as a complement to the douja d?or. festival delle sagre celebrates the farms and wineries of asti province. for a weekend in early september, piazza campo del palio becomes a huge, all-day, outdoor restaurant, offering more than 100 traditional foods and wines to eager crowds. on sunday, people from some 50 villages parade through town, walking or riding floats that depict farm life of days gone by. this nod to history gives only a hint of asti's far reach into the past. it's been an important town for centuries, with wealthy merchants competing to build ever-taller towers; in the 17th century it was known as ?the city of 100 towers.? several remain, and one of asti's symbols is the 13th-century torre troyana. it's 144 feet (44 meters) high, the tallest tower in piedmont and the only one visitors can enter and climb to the top. it's open on weekends, april to october.
