Canelli ( Piedmontese: ''Canèj'') 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) of 10,459 inhabitants in the

Province of Asti The Province of Asti ( it, Provincia di Asti, Piedmontese: ''Provincia d’Ast'') is a province in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Asti. To the northwest it borders on the Metropolitan City of Turin; to the so ...

in the Italian region of

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

. Canelli is located on a bend of the river

Belbo The Belbo is a river of southern Piedmont, Italy. It is a right-side tributary of the Tanaro. Geography The Belbo rises in the Langhe, on the borders between Piedmont and Liguria in the hills of Montezemolo. After flowing through the Piedmont ...

in the ''Alto Monferrato'' (High

Monferrat Montferrat (, ; it, Monferrato ; pms, Monfrà , locally ; la, Mons Ferratus) is part of the region of Piedmont in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Mo ...

), close to the border with the

Langhe The Langhe (; ''Langa'' is from old dialect Mons Langa et Bassa Langa) is a hilly area to the south and east of the river Tanaro in the province of Cuneo and in the province of Asti in Piedmont, northern Italy. It is famous for its wines, c ...

. The area around the town is rich in

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyard ...

s. The area is believed to be the birthplace of the Italian

sparkling wine Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne regi ...

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 deeme ...

. The village's history of the wine is still evident today with the popular

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are al ...

Muscat Canelli Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was ...

that is still used for the Moscato grape used to produce the wine.K. MacNeil ''The Wine Bible'' pg 333-335 Workman Publishing 2001 The neighbouring comuni are Bubbio,

Calamandrana Calamandrana is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Asti. Calamandrana borders the following municipalities: Canelli, Cassinasco, Castel Bo ...

Calosso Calosso is a rural '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about south of Asti in the hilly area between the Tanaro and Belbo and on the borders between Monferrato ...

Cassinasco Cassinasco is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Asti. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 639 and an area of .All demographics a ...

, Loazzolo,

Moasca Moasca is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Asti. Moasca borders the following municipalities: Agliano Terme, Calosso, Canelli, Castelnu ...

and

San Marzano Oliveto San Marzano Oliveto is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Asti. San Marzano Oliveto is located in a panoramic position above sea level. It ...

in the province of Asti, and Santo Stefano Belbo 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 H ...

. On 22 June 2014, Canelli along with Asti Spumante was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.CNN - UNESCO's newest World Heritage sites
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History

The territory of Canelli was already occupied in prehistoric times by settlers from

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 ...

. In Roman times it became a center of some importance, surrounded by numerous farms on which vines were cultivated. After the Roman era Canelli fell into a long decline, but was already being called a ''citta'' (town) by the year 961. By the middle of the 12th century, the descendants of the Counts of

Acqui Terme Acqui Terme (; pms, Àich ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Alessandria, Piedmont, northern Italy. It is about south-southwest of Alessandria. It is one of the principal winemaking communes of the Italian DOCG wine Brachetto d'A ...

had taken control. In 1235 Canelli became an equal partner in the Republic of Asti and Canelli. It became an outpost in the republic's frequent wars against its great rival, the Duchy of Monferrato. In 1613 Canelli broke the siege laid by Carlo I, later the Duke of

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

, as part of a war of succession with the Duchy of Monferrato. The town's defenses were manned by soldiers from the

Duchy of Savoy The Duchy of Savoy ( it, Ducato di Savoia; french: Duché de Savoie) was a country in Western Europe that existed from 1416. It was created when Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, raised the County of Savoy into a duchy for Amadeus VIII. The du ...

, actively supported by the citizens: Carlo's troops were unable to break through them. This heroic action is celebrated in a re-enactment that takes place every year in the third weekend in June - the ''Assedio di Canelli'' ( Siege of Canelli). On the night of 5 November 1994 the town was badly hit by a violent flood of the river

that affected a large part of the town, devastating the local economy and causing some casualties.

Main sights

Canelli Castle was built in the 11th century to defend the roads leading to the ports of

Savona Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italy, Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea. Savona used to be one of the chie ...

and Vado Ligure. The castle was destroyed in 1617 during the war against

Monferrato Montferrat (, ; it, Monferrato ; pms, Monfrà , locally ; la, Mons Ferratus) is part of the region of Piedmont in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Mon ...

. Rebuilt and renovated in 1930 by Arturo Midana as an elegant villa, it is currently owned by the

Gancia Gancia is an Italian wine-making company which produces a broad range of sparkling and still wines from the Piedmont region. History The company was founded in 1850 in Turin by Carlo Gancia. Carlo Gancia is known as the father of Italian spark ...

family. Some sparkling white wines in Canelli are stored in its underground cellars. In these 'underground cathedrals', which are feats of engineering, millions of bottles are left to ferment at a constant temperature between . Extending under the town, the cellars of Canelli are a candidate for

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

status.

Economy

The economy of Canelli is based on the production of sparkling wine, and of everything associated with it. The town is undoubtedly one of the wine capitals of the world, being home to such historic wineries as Gancia, Bosca, Contratto, Coppo and many others. The main varieties cultivated in the municipality are: * Moscato *

Barbera Barbera is a red Italian wine grape variety that, as of 2000, was the third most-planted red grape variety in Italy (after Sangiovese and Montepulciano). It produces good yields and is known for deep color, full body, low tannins and high level ...

* Dolcetto *

Cortese Cortese is a white Italian wine grape variety predominantly grown in the southeastern regions of Piedmont in the provinces of Alessandria and Asti. It is the primary grape of the ''Denominazione di origine controllata'' (DOC) wines of Cortese de ...

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new ...

The main wines produced are: *

* Moscato d'Asti * Barbera d'Asti * Dolcetto d'Asti * Cortese dell'Alto Monferrato *

Freisa d'Asti Freisa is a red Italian wine grape variety grown in the Piedmont region of north-west Italy, primarily in Monferrato and in the Langhe, but also further north in the provinces of Turin and Biella. Freisa is a vigorous and productive vine whose ...

The significant number of wineries has also given rise to many companies that produce wine-making equipment. The flood of 1994 was a disaster for the local economy: the mud and water that rushed into the cellars caused millions of Euros of fermenting wine to be lost. The economic diversification into wine-making equipment softened the blow.

Festivals and events

* ''Assedio di Canelli'' (Siege of Canelli); 3rd weekend in June
Youtube video
* ''Citta del Vino'' (City of Wine Festival); 4th weekend in September. * ''Fiera di San Martino'' (St. Martin's Fair); 2nd Sunday in November. * ''Fiera Regionale del Tartufo'' (Regional

Truffle A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, predominantly one of the many species of the genus ''Tuber''. In addition to ''Tuber'', many other genera of fungi are classified as truffles including '' Geopora'', '' Pe ...

Fair); 2nd Sunday in November. * Canelli is one of the comuni (municipalities) that participates in the Palio di Asti. In 1974 it triumphed with the rider Mauro Finotto (nicknamed ''Jora'') on the horse Anin / Spumantino. Canelli has two market days every week, on Tuesday and Friday.

People

* Giovanni Carlo Aliberti (1670-1727), painter

Twinned towns

Canelli is twinned with: *

Menfi Menfi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about southwest of Palermo and about northwest of Agrigento. The town lies some from the south coast of Sicily, between the rivers Belic ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Piazza Armerina Piazza Armerina ( Gallo-Italic of Sicily: ''Ciazza''; Sicilian: ''Chiazza'') is a '' comune'' in the province of Enna of the autonomous island region of Sicily, southern Italy. History The city of Piazza (as it was called before 1862) develop ...

* Mezőtúr,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato