Ceva, the ancient Ceba, is a small

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 ...

town in the

province of Cuneo Cuneo (Italian), or Coni (Piedmontese), is a province in the southwest of the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west it borders on the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ( departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Haut ...

, region of

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

, east of

Cuneo Cuneo (; pms, Coni ; oc, Coni/Couni ; french: Coni ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in ...

. It lies on the right bank of the

Tanaro The Tanaro (; pms, Tane ; ; la, Tanarus), is a long river in northwestern Italy. The river begins in the Ligurian Alps, near the border with France, and is the most significant right-side tributary to the Po in terms of length, size of dra ...

on a wedge of land between that river and the Cevetta stream.

History

In the pre-Roman period the territory around Ceva was inhabited by the branch of the mountain

Ligures The Ligures (singular Ligur; Italian: liguri; English: Ligurians) were an ancient people after whom Liguria, a region of present-day north-western Italy, is named. Ancient Liguria corresponded more or less to the current Italian regi ...

known as Epanterii. View of Ceva 1835

The upper Val Tanaro was Romanized in the second century BC and it is known that the area was organized around a ''

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the priv ...

''. However, it is not certain that this was Ceba:

Mombasiglio Mombasiglio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about east of Cuneo Cuneo (; pms, Coni ; oc, Coni/Couni ; french: Coni ) is a city and ''comune'' in Pie ...

is also regarded as a candidate. In the first century AD

Columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the wo ...

referred to a particular breed of cattle raised here, and

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

praised its sheep's milk cheese in his '' Natural History''. The town is on the site of the old Roman road from

Augusta Taurinorum 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 ...

via

Pollentia 250px, Church of San Vittore at Pollenzo. Pollentia, known today as Pollenzo ( pms, Polèns), was an ancient city on the left bank of the Tanaro. It is now a ''frazione'' (parish) of Bra in the Province of Cuneo, Piedmont, northern Italy. In a ...

to the coast and it is probable that there was a market here from which the cheese produced in the region was exported with Rome via the Ligurian ports of Vada Sabatia (the modern

Vado Ligure Vado Ligure ( lij, Voæ), in antiquity Vada Sabatia, is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Savona, Liguria, in northern Italy. Economy Vado has a large industrial and commercial port. Vado Ligure is home to a railway construction plant, ...

) and/or Albingaunum (Albenga). In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

it was the seat of a small marquisate, which lasted until the late 15th century when it was acquired by Savoy. Ceva was home to a fortress defending the confines of Piedmont towards

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

, but the fortifications on the rock above the town were demolished in 1800 by the French, to whom it had been ceded in 1796. Ceva was heavily damaged by a flood of the

, Cevetta and Bovina rivers.

Main sights

The 16th century castle of the

Pallavicino The House of Pallavicini, also known as Pallavicino and formerly known as Pelavicino, is an ancient Italian noble family founded by Oberto II ''Pelavicino'' of the Frankish Obertenghi family. The Pallavicini of Genoa The first recorded member of ...

stands in an area of green parkland between the Tanaro and the Cevetta and comprises two small palaces: the original, red ''palazzina rossa'' and the later, white ''palazzina bianca''. Remains of the 16th century fort are also present. The Duomo of Ceva, also known as the Collegiata dell'Assunzione della Beata Vergine Maria, was completed in 1605.

Twin towns — sister cities

Ceva is twinned with: * Le Val, France (1992)

Notes

External links

* * Pliny on the cheese of Ceba in Book 11 of the ''Natural History'': *
at Perseus
*

(Search for ‘Cebanum’) Comunità Montana Valli Mongia, Cevetta e Langa Cebana {{Cuneo-geo-stub

History

Main sights

Twin towns — sister cities

See also

Notes

External links