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Alessandria



 
 
Alessandria (Lissandria in Piedmontese
Piedmontese language

Piedmontese is a Romance language spoken by over 2 million people in Piedmont , northwest Italy. It is geographically and linguistically included in the Northern Italian group ....
) is a city in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria
Province of Alessandria

The Province of Alessandria is an Italy Provinces of Italy, with a population of some 430,000, which forms the southeastern part of the region of Piedmont....
. The city is sited on the alluvial plane between the Tanaro
Tanaro River

The Tanaro , known as Tanarus in ancient times, is a 276 Kilometre-long river in north-western Italy. It rises in the Ligurian Alps, close to the border with France and is the most significant right-side tributary to the Po River in terms of length, size of drainage basin and Discharge ....
 and the Bormida
Bormida River

The Bormida is a river of north-west Italy which rises in Liguria, as the Bormida di Millesimo and flows through Piedmont. After converging with the Bormida di Spigno near Bistagno, it joins the Tanaro River, of which it is the major tributary, north-east of Alessandria....
 rivers, c. 90 km southeast of Turin
Turín

Tur?n is a municipality in the Ahuachap?n Department Departments of El Salvador of El Salvador....
.

Alessandria is also a major railway hub.

sandria was founded in 1168 upon a preexisting urban nucleus, to serve as a stronghold for the Lombard League
Lombard League

The Lombard League was an alliance formed around 1167, which at its apex included most of the cities of northern Italy , including, among others, Milan, Piacenza, Cremona, Mantua, Crema, Italy, Bergamo, Brescia, Bologna, Padua, Treviso, Vicenza, Venice, Verona, Lodi, Italy, and Parma, and even some lords, such as the Marquis Malaspina and E...
, defending the traditional liberties of the communes
Medieval commune

Communes in Europe during the Middle Ages were sworn allegiances of mutual defense among the citizens of a town or city. They took many forms, and varied widely in organization and makeup....
 of northern Italy against the Imperial
Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early modern Europe under a Holy Roman Emperor....
 forces of Frederick Barbarossa. Alessandria stood in the territories of the marchese of Monferrato, a staunch ally of the Emperor, with a name assumed in 1168 to honor the Emperor's opponent, Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III

Pope Alexander III , born Rolando of Siena, was Pope from 1159 to 1181....
.






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Alessandria (Lissandria in Piedmontese
Piedmontese language

Piedmontese is a Romance language spoken by over 2 million people in Piedmont , northwest Italy. It is geographically and linguistically included in the Northern Italian group ....
) is a city in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria
Province of Alessandria

The Province of Alessandria is an Italy Provinces of Italy, with a population of some 430,000, which forms the southeastern part of the region of Piedmont....
. The city is sited on the alluvial plane between the Tanaro
Tanaro River

The Tanaro , known as Tanarus in ancient times, is a 276 Kilometre-long river in north-western Italy. It rises in the Ligurian Alps, close to the border with France and is the most significant right-side tributary to the Po River in terms of length, size of drainage basin and Discharge ....
 and the Bormida
Bormida River

The Bormida is a river of north-west Italy which rises in Liguria, as the Bormida di Millesimo and flows through Piedmont. After converging with the Bormida di Spigno near Bistagno, it joins the Tanaro River, of which it is the major tributary, north-east of Alessandria....
 rivers, c. 90 km southeast of Turin
Turín

Tur?n is a municipality in the Ahuachap?n Department Departments of El Salvador of El Salvador....
.

Alessandria is also a major railway hub.

History

Alessandria was founded in 1168 upon a preexisting urban nucleus, to serve as a stronghold for the Lombard League
Lombard League

The Lombard League was an alliance formed around 1167, which at its apex included most of the cities of northern Italy , including, among others, Milan, Piacenza, Cremona, Mantua, Crema, Italy, Bergamo, Brescia, Bologna, Padua, Treviso, Vicenza, Venice, Verona, Lodi, Italy, and Parma, and even some lords, such as the Marquis Malaspina and E...
, defending the traditional liberties of the communes
Medieval commune

Communes in Europe during the Middle Ages were sworn allegiances of mutual defense among the citizens of a town or city. They took many forms, and varied widely in organization and makeup....
 of northern Italy against the Imperial
Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early modern Europe under a Holy Roman Emperor....
 forces of Frederick Barbarossa. Alessandria stood in the territories of the marchese of Monferrato, a staunch ally of the Emperor, with a name assumed in 1168 to honor the Emperor's opponent, Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III

Pope Alexander III , born Rolando of Siena, was Pope from 1159 to 1181....
. In 1174–75 the fortress was sorely tested by Imperial siege and stood fast. A legend (related in Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco

Umberto Eco is an Italy medievalist, Semiotics, philosopher, Literary criticism and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory....
's book Baudolino
Baudolino

Baudolino is a 2000 novel by Umberto Eco about the adventures of a young man named Baudolino in the known and mythical Christianity world of the 12th century....
, and which recalls one concerning Bishop Herculanus
Herculanus of Perugia

Saint Herculanus of Perugia was a bishop of Perugia and is patron saint of that city. His main feast day is November 7; his second feast is celebrated on March 1....
’ successful defense of Perugia
Perugia

Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the Tiber river, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city symbol is the griffin, which can be seen in the form of plaques and statues on buildings around the city....
 several centuries earlier) says it was saved by a quick-witted peasant, Gagliaudo: he fed his cow with the last grain remaining within the city, then took it outside the city walls until he reached the Imperial camp. Here he was captured, and his cow cut open to be cooked: when the Imperials found the cow's stomach filled with grain, Gagliaudo was asked the reason to waste such a rich meal. He answered that he was forced to feed his cow with grain because there was such a lot of it, and no room to place it within the city. The Emperor, fearing that the siege would last too long, left Alessandria free. (Malaria was probably the real cause of his departure.) A statue of Gagliaudo can be found on the left corner of the city cathedral. Alessandria was granted a charter as a free commune in 1198, but entered into jealous conflicts with the older communes of the region, in particular with Asti
Asti

Asti is a city and comune of c. 75,000 inhabitants located in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy, about 55 kilometres east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River....
.

In 1348 Alessandria fell into the hands of the Visconti and passed with their possessions to the Sforza, following the career of Milan
Milan

Milan is the second largest city of Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. It is the capital in the Province of Milan, as well as the Regions of Italy capital of Lombardy....
, until 1707, when it was ceded to the House of Savoy
House of Savoy

The House of Savoy was formed in the early eleventh century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy until the end of the Second World War....
 and henceforth formed part of Piedmont
Piedmont

Piedmont is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,399 km? and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital is Turin. The main local dialect is Piedmontese....
.

With Napoleon's success at the Battle of Marengo (1800)
Battle of Marengo (1800)

The Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between French First Republic forces under Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian Empire forces near the city of Alessandria, in Kingdom of Sardinia, Italy....
, it fell to France and became the capital of the Napoleonic Département of Marengo
Marengo (département)

Marengo is the name of a d?partement in France of the First French Empire in present Italy. It was named after the Marengo plain near Alessandria to commemorate the Battle of Marengo ....
. During this period a substantial fort was built to the north of the city containing impressive and substantial barracks which are still used as a military HQ and stores (2006). The remains of a second fort to the south of the city (Christo quarter) have been sliced in two by a railway.

From 1814 Alessandria was Savoyard territory once more, part of the Kingdom of Sardinia
Kingdom of Sardinia

Kingdom of Sardinia, also known as Piedmont-Sardinia or Sardinia-Piedmont, was the name given to the possessions of the House of Savoy in 1720, when the island of Sardinia was awarded by the Treaty of London to Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia to compensate him for the loss of Sicily to Austrian Empire....
.

During the years of the Risorgimento, Alessandria was an active center of the liberals.

In a suburb, Spinetta Marengo, the Battle of Marengo is reenacted annually, on June 14.

Alessandria was the first capital of an Italian province to be governed by a Socialist: the clockmaker Paolo Sacco was elected sindaco. July 25, 1899.

Alessandria was a tactical military target during World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 and was subjected to intense Allied bombing, the most serious being the raids of April 30, 1944, with 238 dead and hundreds wounded, and April 5, 1945, with 160 deaths, among them 60 children from the children's asylum in Via Gagliaudo. On end of that month the city was liberated of the German occupation (1943-1945) by the partisan resistance and troops of Brazilian Expeditionary Force

On November 6, 1994 the Tanaro flooded a good part of the city, causing major damage, especially in the Orti quarter.

Main sights


Museums

  • The Marengo Battle Museum
  • Antiquarium Forum Fulvii
  • Sale d'arte
  • I percorsi del Museo Civico
  • Museo del Fiume
  • Museo di Scienze Naturali e Planetario
  • Museo Etnografico "C'era una volta"
  • Museo del Cappello Borsalino




Events

  • The annual Fraskettando SkaBluesJazz Festival (), which takes place on the first weekend of July, has showcased the Blues Brothers, Eddie Floyd
    Eddie Floyd

    Eddie Floyd is a Soul/R&B singer and songwriter, best known for his work on Stax Records in the 1960s and 1970s....
    , Al Di Meola
    Al Di Meola

    Al Di Meola is an Italian American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist.Di Meola grew up in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and attended Bergenfield High School....
    , Taj Mahal
    Taj Mahal

    The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India, built by Mughal Empire list of Mughal emperors Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal....
    , Soft Machine
    Soft Machine

    Soft Machine was an England Rock music band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the so-called "Canterbury scene," and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre....
    , Mario Biondi
    Mario Biondi

    Mario Biondi is an Italian writer....
    , Mick Abrahams
    Mick Abrahams

    Michael Timothy 'Mick' Abrahams was the original guitarist for Jethro Tull . He recorded the album This Was with the band in 1968, but conflicts between Abrahams and Ian Anderson over the musical direction of the band led Abrahams to leave once the album was finished....
     & Clive Bunker
    Clive Bunker

    Clive Bunker was a drummer for the United Kingdom band , Jethro Tull , between 1967 and 1971. Bunker left after Tull's release of their album, Aqualung , to get marriage....
     and many others.
  • Michele Pittaluga International Classical Guitar Competition
    Michele Pittaluga International Classical Guitar Competition

    The "Michele Pittaluga" International Classical Guitar Competition is an annual music competition for young classical guitarists held in Alessandria, Italy....
     Premio Cittŕ di Alessandria
  • International Rally "Madonnina dei Centauri".


People born in Alessandria

  • Saint Baudolino
    Saint Baudolino

    Saint Baudolino was a hermit who lived at the time of the Lombards king Liutprand, King of the Lombards in Forum Fulvii , a locality on the lower reaches of the river Tanaro River in north-west Italy....
     (c.700–c.740), hermit of Forum Fulvii
    Forum Fulvii

    Forum Fulvii was a small but flourishing Ligures/Celt first, then Roman settlement on the Via Fulvia, a road of north-west Italy, probably laid out by Marcus Fulvius Flaccus , consul in 125 BCE, from Dertona to Hasta Pompeia ....
  • Francesco Filiberti (15th century), sculptor
  • Georgius Merula
    Georgius Merula

    Georgius Merula was an Italy Humanism and classical scholar born in Alessandria in Piedmont. The greater part of his life was spent in Venice and Milan, where he held a professorship and continued to teach until his death....
     (c. 1430–1494), humanist
    Humanism

    Humanism is a broad category of ethics that affirm the dignity and worth of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appealing to universal human qualities, particularly rationalism, without resorting to the supernatural or alleged divine authority from religious texts....
  • Giovanni Mazzoni (15th–16th century), painter
  • Giorgio Soleri (16th century), painter
  • Giuseppe Vermiglio
    Giuseppe Vermiglio

    Giuseppe Vermiglio was a Caravaggio painter from Northern Italy, active also in Rome.Our knowledge of Vermiglio?s life is sketchy. It is probable that he was born in Alessandria....
     (16th–17th centuries), painter
  • Giovanni Migliara (1785–1837), painter
  • Andrea Vochieri (1796–1833), patriot
  • Urbano Rattazzi
    Urbano Rattazzi

    Urbano Rattazzi was an Italy statesman....
     (1808–1873), statesman of the Risorgimento
  • Francesco Faŕ di Bruno
    Francesco Faŕ di Bruno

    Francesco Fa? di Bruno was an Italy mathematician and priest, born at Alessandria. He was of noble birth, and held, at one time, the rank of captain-of-staff in the Kingdom of Sardinian Army....
     (1825–1888), mathematician and priest
  • Virginia Marini (1844–1918), actress
  • Angelo Morbelli (1854–1919), painter
  • Blessed
    Blessed

    Blessed may refer to:* The state of having received a blessing.* In Roman Catholicism, a title applied to someone who has been Beatification....
     Teresa Grillo Michel (1855–1944), founder of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of Divine Providence.
  • Sibilla Aleramo
    Sibilla Aleramo

    File:Nunes Vais, Mario , Sibilla Aleramo .jpgSibilla Aleramo was an Italy author and feminist best known for her autobiographical depictions of life as a woman in late 19th century Italy....
     (1876–1960), painter
  • Pietro Morando (1889–1980), writer
  • Giovanni Ferrari
    Giovanni Ferrari

    Giovanni Ferrari was an Italy football player. He played 125 times for Internazionale Milano F.C. and scored 35 goals for the club. He also managed Inter from 1942 to 1943....
     (1907–1982), footballer
  • Walter Audisio
    Walter Audisio

    Walter Audisio was a Italy partisan and politician. He was responsible for the death of Benito Mussolini....
     (1909–1973), partisan
  • Umberto Eco
    Umberto Eco

    Umberto Eco is an Italy medievalist, Semiotics, philosopher, Literary criticism and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory....
     (born 1932), writer
  • Gianni Rivera
    Gianni Rivera

    Giovanni Rivera is an Italy former Association football Midfielder who was awarded the Ballon d'Or, one of the most prestigious individual awards in football, in 1969....
     (born 1943), footballer


Twin towns

  • Argenteuil
    Argenteuil

    Argenteuil is a commune in France in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 12.3 km from the Kilometre Zero. Argenteuil is a sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise Departments of France and the seat of the Arrondissement of Argenteuil....
    , France
    France

    France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
    , since 1960
  • Jericho
    Jericho

    Jericho is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate, and has a population of over 20,000 Arabs....
    , Israel (disputed territory), since 2004
  • Hradec Králové
    Hradec Králové

    Hradec Kr?lov? is a city of the Czech Republic, in the Hradec Kralove Region of Bohemia. The city's economy is based on food-processing technology, photochemical, and electronics manufacture....
    , Czech Republic
    Czech Republic

    The Czech Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east....
    , since 1961
  • Karlovac
    Karlovac

    Karlovac is a city and municipality in central Croatia. The city proper has a population of 49,082, while the whole municipality has a population of 59,395 inhabitants ....
    , Croatia
    Croatia

    Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a Central European country at the crossroads of Pannonian Plain, Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea....
    , since 1963
  • Rosario
    Rosario

    Rosario is the largest city in the provinces of Argentina of Santa Fe Province, Argentina. It is located 300 km northwest of Buenos Aires, on the western shore of the Paran? River and has 1,025,000 residents as of the ....
    , Argentina
    Argentina

    Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city....
    , since 1988


See also

  • Villa del Foro, a western suburb of the town which was the site of a Roman settlement.


External links

  • - Information, phone numbers and useful link