Crissolo
Crissolo is a municipality in the province of Cuneo, in the upper Po valley, at the foot of Monviso. The village is one of the main tourist destinations of the upper valley, with both a summer character, linked to hiking towards the springs of the Po and Monviso, and a winter one, thanks to a chairlift and facilities for snow sports.
Tourism and events
Since 2016 Crissolo has hosted the “Mercatini sotto il Monviso” (“Markets under Monviso”), an event that ushers in the Christmas period and symbolically opens the village's winter season [1][2]. The event was not held in 2019 because of bad weather and in 2020 because of the pandemic emergency: the 2026 edition, scheduled for Sunday 29 November, is therefore the ninth actually held in the eleventh year since the initiative began [2].
The 2026 edition includes more than fifty stalls of crafts and local products, spread between the pedestrian area of via Umberto I and piazza Duca degli Abruzzi and the area used in summer for motorhome parking [1]. Stalls include Christmas decorations, nativity scenes, tailoring, handmade toys, cosmetics and herbal products, together with food specialities such as chocolate, honey, jams, torrone and wine [1]. Side events are also planned, including pony rides and face painting, a street food area in front of the Sala delle Guide, roast chestnuts handed out near the skating rink, and, for children, a letterbox for letters to Santa Claus [1][2].
Administration
As of 2026 the mayor of Crissolo is Fabrizio Re, who has said that the 2026 edition of the Mercatini sotto il Monviso will be the last he oversees as mayor, since his second term ends with the municipal elections due in spring 2027 [1][2]. Re has also reported that, in the same period, management of the chairlift serving Crissolo's ski area is being handed over to a new operator [1][2].