The ''iudiciaria Torrensis'', also known as ''fines Torrenses'', ''comitatus Toresianus'' or ''Torresana'',Aldo A. Settia, ''‘Castrum Turris’, il colle di S. Lorenzo e i Longobardi in Monferrato'', distributed in digital format by Reti Medievali. [Included also in ''I Longobardi in Monferrato: Archeologia della ‘iudiciaria Torrensis’'', ed. by E. Michelletto (Casale Monferrato, 2007), pp. 11–29; and in ''Bollettino storico bibliografico subalpino'', 106 (2008), pp. 357-397.] was a Kingdom of Italy (medieval)#Constituent of the Carolingian Empire.2C 774.E2.80.93962, Carolingian district of north-west Italy which is referred to in charters from the second half of the 9th century and from the early years of the century following. Lying to the north of the

County of 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 ...

and to the south of the river Po, it extended from the eastern spurs of the Hills of Turin to the confluence of the Po and 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 drai ...

near

Bassignana Bassignana (in Piedmontese dialect ''Bassgnan-na'') is a municipality in the Province of Alessandria, Piedmont, northern Italy. The village is situated near the confluence of the Po River and the Tanaro river. Main sights include remains of the c ...

. Thus it corresponded broadly with the territory of today's

Basso 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 ...

. Each form of its name derives from the ''Castrum Turris'' which stood on the hill now known as San Lorenzo, (from the ''

pieve In the Middle Ages, a pieve (, ; la, plebe, link=no; plural ''pievi'') was a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without baptisteries depended. The Italian word ''pieve'' is descended from Latin ''plebs'' which, after th ...

'' dedicated to

Saint Laurence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman ...

). The district appears to have lost its status in the mid to late tenth century and its territory to have been divided between the counties 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 ...

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 ...

and

Vercelli Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, ...

and subsequently between the

Aleramici The House of Aleramici were a medieval Italian noble family of Frankish origin which ruled various northwestern counties and marches, in Piedmont and Liguria from the tenth to the 14th centuries. History The founder of the family was William I of ...

, the Bishops of Asti, and the Bishops of Vercelli.

References

*Marco Battistoni
‘Comune di Vignale Monferrato’
Schede storico-territoriali dei comuni del Piemonte (Turin: Regione Piemonte, 2002), pp. 3–4.
‘La Iudiciaria Torrensis’
Circolo culturale I Marchesi del Monferrato. {{coord missing, Italy Geographical, historical and cultural regions of Piedmont Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)