Marengo was a department of the

French Consulate The Consulate (french: Le Consulat) was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term ''The Co ...

and 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 E ...

in present-day

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 ...

. It was named after the Marengo plain near Alessandria to commemorate the eponymous French victory. It was formed in 1802, when the Subalpine Republic (formerly the mainland portion of 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 ...

) was directly annexed to France. Its capital was Alessandria. Initially it comprised the former Piedmontese provinces of Alessandria, Casale, Tortona, Voghera and Bobbio. Following the annexation of the

Ligurian Republic The Ligurian Republic ( it, Repubblica Ligure, lij, Repubbrica Ligure) was a French client republic formed by Napoleon on 14 June 1797. It consisted of the old Republic of Genoa, which covered most of the Ligurian region of Northwest Italy, and ...

to France in 1805, Voghera, Bobbio and Tortona passed to the newly created Department of Genoa, while the Department of Marengo acquired Asti, previously in the Department of Tanaro. The department was disbanded after the defeat of Napoleon in 1814. At the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

, the Savoyard

King of Sardinia The following is a list of rulers of Sardinia, in particular, of the monarchs of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica from 1323 and then of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1479 to 1861. Early history Owing to the absence of written sources, little ...

was restored in all his previous realms and domains, including

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

. Its territory is now divided between the Italian provinces of Alessandria and Asti.

Subdivisions

The department was subdivided into the following ''arrondissements'' and '' cantons'' (situation in 1812):Almanach Impérial an bissextil MDCCCXII
p. 430-431, accessed in Gallica 25 July 2013 * Alessandria, cantons: Alessandria (2 cantons), Bosco, Cassine, Castellazzo,

Felizzano Felizzano (Flissan in Piemontese) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about west of Alessandria. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,405 ...

Sezzadio Sezzadio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about south of Alessandria. Sezzadio borders the following municipalities: Carpeneto, Cassine, Casteln ...

and

Valenza Valenza ( pms, Valensa) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about north of Alessandria. History A stronghold of the Ligures, it was conquered by the Ro ...

. * Asti, cantons: Asti,

Canelli Canelli ( Piedmontese: ''Canèj'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) of 10,459 inhabitants in the Province of Asti in the Italian region of Piedmont. Canelli is located on a bend of the river Belbo in the ''Alto Monferrato'' (High Monferrat), close ...

, Castelnuovo d'Asti,

Cocconato Cocconato is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northwest of Asti. Cocconato borders the following municipalities: Aramengo, Brozolo, Montiglio Monferrato, ...

, Costigliole,

Mombercelli Mombercelli is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Asti. Mombercelli borders the following municipalities: Belveglio, Castelnuovo Calcea, Mo ...

, Montafia, Montechiaro,

Portacomaro Portacomaro ( pms, Portacomé) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about northeast of Asti. Portacomaro borders the following municipalities: Asti, Calli ...

Rocca d'Arazzo Rocca d'Arazzo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Asti. Rocca d'Arazzo borders the following municipalities: Asti, Azzano d'Asti, Castel ...

, San Damiano,

Tigliole Tigliole is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about west of Asti. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,676 and an area of .All demographics and o ...

and

Villanova d'Asti Villanova d'Asti is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Asti, Piedmont, northern Italy. It has around 5,000 inhabitants. The economy is based on a mixture of agriculture and industry. Villanova d'Asti was founded in the Middle Ages. The mai ...

. * Casale, cantons: Casale, Gabiano,

Moncalvo Moncalvo is a village and ''comune'' in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northeast of Asti on the national road SS 547 which links Asti to Casale Monferrato and Vercelli. Historically i ...

, Montemagno, Montiglio,

Pontestura Pontestura (in Piedmontese ''Pont da Stura'') is a ''commune'' with a population of 1,539 in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont. It is located on the right bank of the Po River about east of Turin and about west of Cas ...

, Rosignano, San Salvatore,

Ticineto Ticineto is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about north of Alessandria. Ticineto borders the following municipalities: Borgo San Martino, Frassineto Po, P ...

and Villanova. Its population in 1812 was 318,447, and its area was 348,261 hectares. The division was included within the 28th military division, the 16th cohort of the ''

légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

'', the 29th ''conservation des forêts'', the Diocese of Casale, the '' sénatorerie'' of

Turin Turin ( , 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 from 1861 to 1865. The ...

and the court of appeal of

Genoa 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 ...

. It elected three deputies to the ''

Corps législatif The was a part of the French legislature during the French Revolution and beyond. It is also the generic French term used to refer to any legislative body. History The Constitution of the Year I foresaw the need for a ''corps législatif''. ...

'' of the First Empire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marengo (Department) Former departments of France in Italy 1802 establishments in France