Cereseto 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 ...
'' (municipality) 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
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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.
Location
Cereseto is about east of
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, 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 ...
and about northwest of
Alessandria
Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin.
Alessandria ...
, on the trunk road linking
Asti
Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a ''comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deemed t ...
to
Casale Monferrato
Casale Monferrato () is a town in the Piedmont region of Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is situated about east of Turin on the right bank of the Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montferrat hills. Beyond the river lies the v ...
.
It borders the municipalities of
Moncalvo
Moncalvo is a village and ''comune'' in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northeast of Asti on the national road SS 547 which links Asti to Casale Monferrato and Vercelli. Historically i ...
,
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_MonferPontestura,_Ponzano_Monferrato.html" ;"title="Pontestura.html" ;"title="Ozzano MonferPontestura">Ozzano MonferPontestura, Ponzano Monferrato">Pontestura.html" ;"title="Ozzano MonferPontestura">Ozzano MonferPontestura, Ponzano Monferrato, Sala Monferrato, Serralunga di Crea, and Treville, Piedmont, Treville.
The commune covers an area of , and is above sea level.
The town is perched on a hill, and is dominated by the castle.
History
The town was probably established around 500–600 AD. It is mentioned in records of the Bishop of Asti from around 957 AD.
Names included Cirisidum, Cerisido, Cirisito, Cirisido, Cerexeti, Cireseto and finally Cereseto, probably referring to the many cherry trees in the area. The town was the property of the Graseverto family of Asti, who probably built the first castle around 900–1000 AD. The municipal statutes were first drafted in 1358. The castle was completely demolished in 1600.
In 1910 the financier
Riccardo Gualino
Riccardo Gualino (25 March 1879 – 6 June 1964) was an Italian Business magnate and art collector. He was also a patron, and an important film producer. His first business empire was based on lumber from Eastern Europe and included forest concess ...
and his wife launched construction of a new castle with almost 150 rooms in Cereseto.
The ''Castello di Cereseto'', in Neo-Gothic Piedmontese-Lombard style, was completed in 1913.
In 1931 Gualino was confined by the
fascist regime
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
to the
Aeolian island of
Lipari
Lipari (; scn, Lìpari) is the largest of the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northern coast of Sicily, southern Italy; it is also the name of the island's main town and ''comune'', which is administratively part of the Metropo ...
on charges of fraudulent bankruptcy and suffered the confiscation of all his property.
The castle went through various changes of ownership, and at one time hosted one of the most impressive illegal drug refineries and laboratories in Europe. Later it became property of the financier Carlo Mereta's Martina company. As of December 2014 that company was bankrupt, and new owners were being sought.
Demographic evolution
As of 31 December 2004, Cereseto had a population of 471 and an area of .
[All demographics and other statistics: Italian statistical institute ]Istat
The Italian National Institute of Statistics ( it, Istituto nazionale di statistica; Istat) is the main producer of official statistics in Italy. Its activities include the census of population, economic censuses and a number of social, economic ...
.
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References
Sources
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Cities and towns in Piedmont