Cella Monte is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' (

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

) in the

Province of Alessandria The Province of Alessandria ( it, Provincia di Alessandria; pms, Provincia ëd Lissandria; in Piedmontese of Alessandria: ''Provinsa ëd Lissändria'') is an Italian province, with a population of some 425,000, which forms the southeastern part o ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region of

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, located about east of

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

and about northwest of Alessandria. It has roughly 509 residents. Cella Monte borders the following municipalities:

Frassinello Monferrato Frassinello Monferrato is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northwest of Alessandria. Frassinello Monferrato borders the following municipalities: Ca ...

Ottiglio Ottiglio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northwest of Alessandria. Ottiglio borders the following municipalities: Casorzo, Cella Monte, Cereset ...

Ozzano Monferrato Ozzano Monferrato is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northwest of Alessandria. Ozzano Monferrato borders the following municipalities: Casale Mo ...

Rosignano Monferrato Rosignano Monferrato is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northwest of Alessandria. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,659 and an area o ...

, and

Sala Monferrato Sala Monferrato is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northwest of Alessandria. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 446 and an area of .All ...

Name

There are two different theories about the origin of the name: one is about

wine cellars ''Wine Cellars'' (Spanish: ''La bodega'') is a 1930 French-Spanish film directed by Benito Perojo and starring Colette Darfeuil, Valentín Parera and Enrique Rivero. It was originally made as a silent film, with sound added later. Based on the ...

and the other one about small

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

. According to the first one the name may derive from the

that were dug into the

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

, which is really common in this geographical area. These cellars, called ''infernot'', even though are not being used anymore they still exist nowadays and can be visited. The other theory is about the small

which in Italian are called ''Celle.'' The name appeared for the first time in a document signed by the Emperor Arrigo V in 1116.

History

References

*https://borghipiubelliditalia.it/borgo/cella-monte/ Cities and towns in Piedmont {{Alessandria-geo-stub