Asti

For 2025 Asti applies a banded municipal IRPEF surcharge: exemption for incomes up to 7,500 euros, then 0.54% up to 28,000 euros, 0.78% from 28,000.01 to 50,000 and 0.79% above 50,000 euros (resolution no. 4 of 3 April 2025). Rents, house prices and the bus pass are in the data.

Public housing is run by ATC Piemonte Sud, the housing agency for the provinces of Alessandria, Asti and Cuneo, with its Asti office at via Carducci 86. Forms and tenants' paperwork go through the online desk; a toll-free number handles faults. Rents and prices in the OMI quotations, in the data.

Appointments with municipal offices are booked through two online calendars: one for the registry, municipal police and taxes, one for planning and business activities. Waste collection, run by ASP, is door-to-door with proximity bins in some areas; the Junker app helps with sorting. ASP also manages water, with a 24-hour emergency line.

To enter with a dog, cat or ferret you need a microchip, an EU pet passport or health certificate and a valid rabies vaccination. Mandatory registration in the regional pet register, lead at all times and a muzzle to hand. Pets allowed on trains under Trenitalia rules and in apartment buildings by law.

Rules depend on who is arriving: EU/EEA/Swiss citizens (no visa, registration with the Comune after three months), non-EU citizens for stays up to 90 days (Schengen rule, type C visa where required) and for long stays (national type D visa and a residence permit within eight working days of arrival).

Urban transport is run by ASP: eight lines on weekdays from 6:00 to 20:30, lines A and B on holidays, links to the hamlets, a Euro 6 and electric fleet, the AstiSmartBus app; the regional BIP integrated ticket applies. ASP also manages paid parking. ZTL and ZTM passes are requested online with SPID or CIE. Pass cost in the data.

Euro, cards accepted almost everywhere, a legal cash limit. Anyone living in Italy for most of the year is tax resident and taxed on worldwide income under three IRPEF brackets; specific regimes exist for the self-employed (forfettario), inbound workers, foreign pensioners and new residents. Contributions go to INPS; annual return with the 730 or Redditi form.

The ASL AT, based at via Conte Verde 125, covers the 106 municipalities of the province with a single district. The city hosts the authority's hospital wards and the CUP booking desks. The out-of-hours service answers on 116117, with its Asti site at via al Castello 1: nights from 20:00 to 8:00 every day, and on Saturdays, pre-holidays and holidays also during the day.

Non-EU pensioners enter with the elective residence visa, EU pensioners through free movement; public healthcare is accessible by compulsory or voluntary registration. Optional 7% regime on foreign income for those moving to small southern municipalities. Cheap houses in villages, services concentrated in cities.

A VAT number (partita IVA) from the Agenzia delle Entrate for freelancers; for businesses the Comunicazione Unica to the Registro delle Imprese, which also notifies the Agenzia, INPS, INAIL and SUAP. Main forms: sole proprietorship, SNC/SAS, SRL and SRLS, SPA. Compulsory PEC, annual chamber fee, e-invoicing. Invitalia incentives; non-EU citizens need a self-employment permit or the investor visa.

Asti has a city university hub, UniASTISS – Polo Universitario Rita Levi Montalcini. The University of Turin teaches there its bachelor's degree in Sport and Exercise Sciences, with capped admission, with Asti among the three teaching sites together with Cuneo and Turin.

The Palio, first recorded on 10 August 1275, when the people of Asti raced "by the walls of Alba" during the feasts of San Secondo, has accompanied the city for eight centuries: 21 factions among districts, boroughs and municipalities, a historical parade of about 1,200 participants, the bareback race in piazza Alfieri. The other symbol are the medieval towers, with the climbable Troyana.

The municipal tourism portal proposes the "tower to tower" itinerary: of the roughly seventy ancient towers a dozen remain, and the Torre Troyana — 44 metres, 199 steps — is the only one you can climb, with views over the city. Also worth seeing: the Torre Rossa, the Comentina and the Cathedral, among the main art attractions.

The Asti year peaks in September: the Palio on the first Sunday of the month in piazza Alfieri, the Douja d'Or with tastings, masterclasses and showcooking in piazza San Secondo, and the Festival delle Sagre. The events leading up to the race start on the Thursday.