The Cittadella of Alessandria ( it, Cittadella di Alessandria) is a

star fort A bastion fort or ''trace italienne'' (a phrase derived from non-standard French, literally meaning ''Italian outline'') is a fortification in a style that evolved during the early modern period of gunpowder when the cannon came to domin ...

and

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

in the city 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 ...

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 re ...

. It was built in the 18th century by the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

, and today it is one of the best preserved fortifications of that era. It is one of the few fortifications in Europe still in their original environment, since there are no buildings blocking the views of the ramparts, or a road that surrounds the

ditches A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ar ...

. On 10 March 1821, during the

Piedmont insurrection The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

, the blue, red and black

tricolour A tricolour () or tricolor () is a type of flag or banner design with a triband design which originated in the 16th century as a symbol of republicanism, liberty, or revolution. The flags of France, Italy, Romania, Mexico, and Ireland were ...

of the

Carbonari The Carbonari () was an informal network of secret revolutionary societies active in Italy from about 1800 to 1831. The Italian Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in France, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay and Ru ...

was raised on the Cittadella's bastions by Colonel Ansaldi. This was the first use of a tricolour flag in the history of Italy. The Cittadella has been Italy's tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2006.

Location

The fortress lies across the river

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 drai ...

in the north-west side of the city of

. The site is one of the lowest in the

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

region with an altitude of about above sea-level.

History

Social, historical and geopolitical context

Since its foundation, 1168, the town of

was always meant to be a border town with a strategic-military vocation. From the 14th century has joined the

Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

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 Province of Alessandria, ...

and

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 ...

, with the Sforza then in the 15th century, and consequently under the

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance peoples, Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of National and regional identity in Spain, national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex Hist ...

rule after, throughout the 17th century. The construction of the fortress began immediately after the signing of the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne o ...

in 1713. The treaty handed ownership of the Citadel from the Spaniards to the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

. A massive fortification project followed, during which much of Alessandria's town-planning were changed to bolster the fortress's defenses. In order to meet the needs of defense of the new state of Savoy, it was decided to build a massive fortress designed to function as a barrier of military transits traveling along the "Road of

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

", the ancient Spanish military road that connected the harbors of

Genova Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of Ge ...

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

Finale Ligure Finale Ligure ( lij, O Finâ, locally ; la, Finarium) is a ''comune'' on the Gulf of Genoa in the Province of Savona in Liguria, Italy. It is considered part of the Italian Riviera. Geography Known for its white sand beaches and its views, Final ...

with the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

18th century

Construction

The Citadel plan was commissioned by King

Vittorio Amedeo II Victor Amadeus II (Vittorio Amedeo Francesco; 14 May 166631 October 1732) was Duke of Savoy from 1675 to 1730. He also held the titles of Prince of Piedmont, Duke of Montferrat, Marquis of Saluzzo and Count of Aosta, Moriana and Nice. Louis XIV ...

and effectively built, in 1732, by King

Charles Emmanuel III Charles Emmanuel III (27 April 1701 – 20 February 1773) was Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia from 1730 until his death. Biography He was born in Turin to Victor Amadeus II of Savoy and his first wife the French Anne Marie d'Orléans. Hi ...

. The project's architect was

Ignazio Bertola Giuseppe Francesco Ignazio Bertola born Roveda was an Italian military architect. Biography Born in 1676 in Tortona, Ignazio was the adopted son of the architect Antonio Bertola and followed in his footsteps as a military engineer.

. The fortress is a six-star hexagon shaped structure. The Citadel was built entirely at the expense of the ancient quarter of Borgoglio (or Bergoglio) provoking strong urban revolution. It was completed in its main components in the forties of the 18th century while inside the fortified hexagon the buildings of the civilians were gradually demolished to make way for new military quarters and the inhabitants were forced to relocate, replaced by a garrison ever more numerous. The result is an immense fortress which extends over whose longer side is parallel to the axis of the river. The Citadel is a perfect example of modern fortress composed of six bastioned fronts supplied with ''cavalieri'' crossed by

tunnels A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube constr ...

and

casemates A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" mean ...

. The fortress is surrounded by a wide

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

, in connection with the Tanaro river through flooding tunnels, scheduled to be flooded by the waters of the river, and protected by ''tenaglioni'',

ravelin A ravelin is a triangular fortification or detached outwork, located in front of the innerworks of a fortress (the curtain walls and bastions). Originally called a ''demi-lune'', after the ''lunette'', the ravelin is placed outside a castle ...

counterguard The counterguard (german: Kontergarde, french: contre-garde) is an outwork in a bastioned fortification system that usually comprises only a low rampart and which is sited in front of the actual fortress moat that runs around the bastions or rave ...

s and ''ridottes''. The entrance is by a long stone bridge that leads to a large area surrounded by multi-storey buildings arranged along the axis of the ancient quarter, all protected by resistant embankments constructed between 1749 and 1831.

The War of the Austrian Succession

The Citadel was tested by fire the first time between 1745 and 1746 when it resisted the French-Spanish army for seven months, during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

. The Citadel was still incomplete and not well armed.

First Italian Campaign

At the end of the First Italian Campaign, the Citadel was in the hands of the French: in July 1799 it was under siege by the Austro-Russian Army led by Aleksandr Vasilyevich Suvorov. After three days of bombing were inflicted serious damage to the fortified structures and the French were forced to surrender.

19th century

French occupation

Following the

Battle of Marengo The Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between French forces under the First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont, Italy. Near the end of the day, the French overcame General Mic ...

and the proclamation of the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eu ...

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

expanded and renovated the fort to support the operations of the French army in Italy. During the French occupation, the citadel became one of the most important fortresses in the French Empire, since it was intended to be the "eastern gateway" of France.

European restoration

In 1814 the Austrian army captured the fort and transferred it to the restored

. The fort was renovated, and by the mid-19th century it became an important bulwark against the Austrian Empire.

Risorgimento

On 10 March 1821, the Cittadella's garrison mutinied, marking the beginning of the

, and Colonel Ansaldi raised the blue, red and black

of the

on the bastions. The insurrection spread quickly throughout Piedmont, but it was suppressed by the Austrians at the end of April. The Austrians subsequently took over the fort and occupied it until 1823. Various

Young Italy Young Italy ( it, La Giovine Italia) was an Italian political movement founded in 1831 by Giuseppe Mazzini. After a few months of leaving Italy, in June 1831, Mazzini wrote a letter to King Charles Albert of Sardinia, in which he asked him to uni ...

affiliates were imprisoned in the fort, and five were executed by firing squad in 1833. After the Austrians defeated the Kingdom of Sardinia during the Battle of Novara in 1849, the fort was again occupied by Austrian forces for three months. After the Alessandria was back in Sardinian hands, the number of guns within the Cittadella was increased, and three nearby Napoleonic forts ( Forte Ferrovia, Forte Bormida and Forte Acqui) were strengthened. The fort saw use during the

Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...

of 1859, and

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

spent some time there during the war.

Kingdom of Italy

Following the

Italian unification The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

and the

proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy The proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy was the formal act that sanctioned the birth of the unified Kingdom of Italy. It happened with a normative act of the Savoyard Kingdom of Sardinia — the law 17 March 1861, n. 4761 — with which Victor ...

, Alessandria became a defensive centre of the kingdom's western border. In 1889, the Cittadella's status changed to command headquarters and barracks. Nonetheless, it remained a key site for the

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfre ...

20th century

In 1901 the Army Corps of Engineers decommissioned the citadel's ''cinta magistrale''. The Forte di Acqui, the Opera di Valenza and the citadel's

outwork An outwork is a minor fortification built or established outside the principal fortification limits, detached or semidetached. Outworks such as ravelins, lunettes (demilunes), flèches and caponiers to shield bastions and fortification curtains ...

s were decommissioned in 1904. Several regiments were stationed in the Cittadella, including the 37th and 38th Infantry Regiments, which formed part of the 3rd Mountain Infantry Division Ravenna.

World War II

The Governor's Palace in the Cittadella was declared a National Monument by

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

dated 17 May 1943. On 9 September 1943, the Germans entered Alessandria and captured the Cittadella after a short bombardment. The Italian garrison surrendered and were deported to Germany. The city of Alessandria was heavily bombed on 5 September 1944, but the Cittadella did not suffer a lot of damage. However, a bomb shelter located near the fort was hit, killing 39 civilians. The Cittadella was captured by partisans in 1945, and it subsequently became the seat of the

Brazilian Expeditionary Force The Brazilian Expeditionary Force ( pt, Força Expedicionária Brasileira, FEB), nicknamed Cobras Fumantes (literally "the Smoking Snakes"), was a military division of the Brazilian Army and Air Force that fought with Allied forces in the Me ...

Post-war era

From 1953 to 1962, the citadel was home to the 52nd Artillery Regiment "Torino". It was then used for logistics functions and as a magazine. In 1994, the citadel was flooded by the river, and many buildings were severely damaged. Today, some areas are still filled with mud from the flood.

21st century

The Cittadella was officially decommissioned in 2007, when the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

handed it over to the Italian Public Property Agency. On 18 June 2010, a permanent exhibition of about 1500 uniforms, weapons and memorabilia of the

was established within the fort. In 2014, the Cittadella was listed as one of "The 7 Most Endangered" sites by

Europa Nostra Europa Nostra (Italian for "Our Europe") is a pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage, representing citizens' organisations that work on safeguarding Europe's cultural and natural heritage. It is the voice of this movement to relevant intern ...

, mainly due to the spread of weeds which threatens the fortification.

Gallery

File:Maria Giovanna Battista Clementi, La Clementina, Portrait of Victor Amadeus II of Savoy, during the siege of Turin (1706), Reggia di Venaria (from Castle of Racconigi).jpg, Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia File:Clementi, follower of - Charles Emmanuel III in profile.jpg, Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia File:Ignazio Bertola.jpg, Ignazio Bertola,

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

File:Citadel 005.jpg, Bastion File:Citadel 057.jpg, Secondary gate or Porta d'Asti File:Citadel 003.jpg, Main gate or Porta Reale File:Citadel 002.jpg, Wall File:Citadel 063.jpg, Interior of the citadel File:Citadel 043.jpg, Bastions and walls

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Anna Marotta, ''La Cittadella di Alessandria, una fortezza per il territorio dal settecento all'unità''. SO.G.ED. 1991

External links

UNESCO tentative list info page about the Citadel of Alessandria
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Alessandria Fortifications in Italy Buildings and structures completed in the 18th century Military installations closed in 2007 Museums in Piedmont Local museums in Italy World Heritage Tentative List 7 Most Endangered Programme