Gavi 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 region

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

, located about southeast 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 southeast 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 ...

. Gavi borders the following municipalities:

Arquata Scrivia Arquata Scrivia (local dialect: ''Auquâ'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria. Arquata Scrivia borders the following ...

Bosio Bosio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria. Bosio borders the following municipalities: Campo Ligure, Campomorone, Ca ...

Carrosio Carrosio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 468 and an area of .All dem ...

, Francavilla Bisio,

Isola del Cantone Isola del Cantone ( lij, L'Isöa do Canton) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about north of Genoa. Isola del Cantone borders the following municipalities: Arquata Scrivia, Bu ...

Novi Ligure Novi Ligure (; lij, Nêuve ; pms, Neuvi ) is a city and ''comune'' north of Genoa, in the Piedmont region of the province of Alessandria of northwest Italy. The town produces food, iron, steel, and textiles. It is an important junction for both ...

Parodi Ligure Parodi Ligure is a ''comune'' in the province of Alessandria, part of Piedmont, in northwest Italy. History Evidence of the existence of the Parodi Ligure region goes back as early as 937 when it was identified as "Palode." It was later assigned t ...

, San Cristoforo,

Serravalle Scrivia Serravalle Scrivia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria. Serravalle Scrivia borders the following municipalities: Ar ...

, Tassarolo, and

Voltaggio Voltaggio (Ottaggio in Ligurian) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria. Located there is a Roman bridge on the Lemme st ...

History

The area of Gavi was already settled in

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

times; later it perhaps housed a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

military outpost defending the

Via Postumia The Via Postumia was an ancient Roman road of northern Italy constructed in 148 BC by the ''consul'' Spurius Postumius Albinus Magnus. It ran from the coast at Genua through the mountains to Dertona, Placentia (the termination of the Via Aemil ...

. After the fall of the

Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...

it was captured by the

Magyars Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Uralic ...

and later by the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

. According to the legend, the current name would derive from that of a princess of the latter, Gavia or Gavina, who had established herself in a castle here. Later in the Middle Ages the town was under the Marquisses of Gavi, allied with

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...

, who took refuge here after the

Battle of Legnano The Battle of Legnano was a battle between the imperial army of Frederick Barbarossa and the troops of the Lombard League on May 29, 1176, near the town of Legnano in present-day Lombardy, in Italy. Although the presence of the enemy nearby wa ...

. In 1202 Gavi was sold to the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...

. After a parenthesis under 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 ...

and France, it returned to Genoa in 1528. In 1625, during the

First Genoese–Savoyard War The Relief of Genoa took place between 28 March 1625 and 24 April 1625, during the Thirty Years' War. It was a major naval expedition launched by Spain against the French-occupied Republic of Genoa, of which the capital Genoa was being besieged ...

, it was attacked and stormed by French-

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

troops, but the Genoese retook it after only 21 days. It was decided to turn Gavi into a powerful fortress. After a French domination from 1804, in 1815 it was assigned to 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 ...

. The fortress was later turned into a penitentiary; during World War II it was used as a POW camp ( P.G. 5, a "bad boys" prison for those who attempted escape from other camps''For You The War Is Over'' by Gordon Horner (private printing, 1948)).

Main sights

*The

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, rebuilt in the 17th century around the pre-existing castle. *Church of ''San Giacomo Maggiore'', in Romanesque style *Municipal Palace. Remains of its medieval line of wall can be seen today. *Franciscan convent of ''Nostra Signora dele Grazie della Valle'', outside the town (18th century). It houses a statue of St. Bernardino and a painting of the Virgin from the 15th century.

Wine

Gavi is in the

DOCG The following four classifications of wine constitute the Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; English: “designation of origin”), * ''Indicazione geografica tipi ...

region of

Cortese di Gavi Cortese di Gavi, or simply Gavi, is an Italian dry white wine produced in a restricted area of the Province of Alessandria, Piedmont, close to the Ligurian border. The wine was awarded DOC status in 1974 and elevated to DOCG in 1998. The name der ...

; Cortese di Gavi produced within the comune of Gavi may be labeled "Gavi di Gavi".

References

External links

Official website
Cities and towns in Piedmont {{Alessandria-geo-stub