Located at the convergence between the Tanaro and Po Rivers, Valenza “alta sull’acqua” (“high on the water”) owes its fame to gold working which, until the end of the mid 19th century, gave an international resonance to the city. In the heart of the historical center, in Piazza XXXI Martiri, rises the imposing structure of the Duomo consecrated to Santa Maria Maggiore, the origins of which have been lost to time. Certainly, there is a document from 1096 which makes reference to the donation made by the Bishop of Pavia for a chapel dedicated to Santa Maria Maggiore with an annexed cemetery. It is, specifically, to this first structure that the Duomo traces its roots. In lieu of the chapel, a three-nave Romanesque church was built with a portico in front of the facade and bell tower separate from the main structure. Toward the end of the 16th century, the structure had so deteriorated that it was decided to redo it; this restoration was entrusted to the architect Moriggi in 1890. The Duomo has a three-nave interior; next to the high altar, which dates back to the mid 18th century, one can admire a lovely canvas by the famous painter from Monferrato, Guglielmo Caccia, which shows the Madonna del Rosario (Madonna of the Rosary).
