“Alessandria, your new home”
If you are an exchange student, you must read this article. You will find it useful!
Welcome to Alessandria!
This place is going to be your new temporary home, and we would like to introduce you to this small town in Piedmont.
Firstly, you’re in a place that has a lot of history. It has Roman origins and a great medieval history, with an incredible legend about a farmer, Gagliaudo, that saved the city from the German king Frederich the Redbeard. During the siege of the city, he tricked the enemy king by using his cow. Alessandria has also a connection to the duchy of Milan and the Spanish empire as you can see in the architecture in places like the “Galleria Guerci” and the “Cathedral of Saints Pietro and Marco”.
Our city is also known for the famous battle of Marengo, the first war won by Napoleon Bonaparte. Near the “Meyer” bridge (that is the most modern one) there’s the “Cittadella”, a fortress with big, tall bastions that survived for days to the powerful attacks of the French general, making the city and the citizens gaining his respect, even though he destroyed our cathedral and the one that we’ve got now is a rebuilt version of it with the style of that time.
Enjoy yourself!
Alessandria is not just a big city, but alo a big family with common spaces where you can spend time hanging out with friends and interesting activities to do.
One of the most frequented by students is “Andando e stando” (the translation is “Going and staying”). It is a café and a library where you can study and buy books while drinking something with your friends.
There are other bookstores like this, such as “Feltrinelli”, “Libraccio” and “Ubik”. So those who love reading will find 4 different book shops in Corso Roma and surroundings. There is extensive film programming and a lot of performances that you can enjoy in theaters. The most well-known is the “Alessandrino”, near the city hall.
In Alessandria there are also other places where you can have fun, like the Bowling alley or the Skate Park.
If you love shopping, you can find a lot of clothes shops like “Zara” and “Tally Weijl” and also many make up shops like “Kiko” or “Douglas”.
If you consider yourself a talented athlete and you love training, sports fields or gyms will, therefore, be the best options in the city. And if you’re interested in sport’s history, you’ll enjoy the “AcdB Museum” , a bicycle museum in “Palazzo Monferrato” where you can learn about the career of Fausto Coppi, a famous cyclist.
And if you’re hungry…
There are a lot of restaurants where you can have dinner like “Barbarossa”, “Malafemmena”, “Saraceno”, “Condurro” , “La pizza”. In these restaurants you can eat delicious Italian food such as Pizza. If you want to eat American food we suggest you “Walla Walla”. Lunch with friends can be enjoyed at “Ohana poke”, “Farcia” or “Antica Roma”, where you can eat take away pizza.
If you like sushi, you should go to restaurants like “Moya” or “Sushi zero”. If you want to eat a delicious ice cream, you should try “Casa del gelato”, “Cremeria Vittoria” or “Yo” where you can also eat frozen yogurt, crepes, pancakes and waffles.
Finally, there are many pastry shops like “Gallina”, where you can find “baci di Gallina”, a local pastry, “Casa Signorelli” and “Antonella dolci”.
In Alessandria almost everyone goes to the same places, so here they are!
They aren’t a lot, but those we have are sociable and welcoming. We're happy to have you in Italy and in our city; we hope you can feel part of this community and feel comfortable instead of feeling out of place. Enjoy this experience in the best way, it will be memorable!
Alessandria isn’t only where you go to study, but also your new home!
Pietro Scagliotti
ig: _sara.gugnoni_
ig: cappellani.vittoria
Sofia Bergaglio
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