Gavi is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin 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,

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,

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

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,

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 San Cristoforo (in local dialect San Cristòfi) 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 p ...

, Serravalle Scrivia,

Tassarolo Tassarolo 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 598 and an area of .All de ...

, and Voltaggio.

History

The area of Gavi was already settled in Neolithic times; later it perhaps housed a Roman military outpost defending the Via Postumia. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire 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. 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 fortress was later turned into a penitentiary; during World War II it was used as a POW camp (

P.G. 5 There were a number of Axis prisoner-of-war camps in Italy during World War II. The initials "P.G." denote ''Prigione di Guerra'' (Prison of War), often interchanged with the title ''Campo'' (field or military camp). The Italian Armistice, declare ...

, 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 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