Pô () was a department of the

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted un ...

and of the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

in present-day Italy. It was named after the river Po. It was formed in 1802, when the Subalpine Republic (formerly the mainland portion of the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

) was directly annexed to France. A provisional department called Eridan was planned in 1799 and established in 1801 in the French-occupied Piedmont. After the annexation, Eridan was divided between Po and Doire. Its capital was

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) 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 city is main ...

. 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, Napol ...

, the Savoyard

King of Sardinia Sardinia is traditionally known to have been initially ruled by the Nuragic civilization, which was followed by Greek colonization, conquest by the Carthagians, Carthaginians, and occupied by the Ancient Rome, Romans for around a thousand years, ...

was restored in all his previous realms and domains, including

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

. Its territory is now part of the Italian province of

Subdivisions

The department was subdivided into the following arrondissements and

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, th ...

(situation in 1812):Almanach Impérial an bissextil MDCCCXII
p. 449-450, accessed in Gallica 26 July 2013 *

, cantons: Carignano,

Carmagnola Carmagnola (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located south of Turin. The town is on the right side of the Po river. The nature of the soil determined over time how the river's ...

, Casalborgone, Ceres, Cirié, Corio, Caselle, Gassino, Lanzo,

Moncalieri Moncalieri (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of 56,134 inhabitants (31 January 2022) about directly south of downtown Turin (to whose Metropolitan City of Turin, Metropolitan City it belongs), in Piedmont, Italy. It is the most populous suburb ...

Orbassano Orbassano (; ) is a (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin. Orbassano borders the following municipalities: Turin, Rivoli, Rivalta di Torino, Beinasco, Nichelino, Volve ...

, Poirino,

Chieri Chieri (; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont (Italy), located about southeast of Turin, by rail and by road. It borders the following municipalities: Baldissero Torinese, Pavarolo, Montaldo Torinese, Pino ...

(), Riva presso Chieri, Rivoli,

(6 cantons), Venaria and

Viù Viù is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northwest of Turin. Viù's central square used to feature a wooden statue of Pinocchio, which is 6.53 meters tall and weighs ab ...

. *

Pinerolo Pinerolo (; ; ; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, northwestern Italy, southwest of Turin on the river Chisone. The Lemina torrent has its source at the boundary between Pinerolo and San Pietro Val di Lemi ...

, cantons: Bricherasio, Cavour,

Cumiana Cumiana is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin. Cumiana borders the following municipalities: Giaveno, Trana, Piossasco, Pinasca, Volvera, Pinerolo, ...

Fenestrelle Fenestrelle (, ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about west of Turin. It is the location of the Fenestrelle Fort, an alpine fortification which guarded the route between t ...

, None, Perosa,

Torre Pellice Torre Pellice ( Vivaro-Alpine: ''La Torre de Pèlis'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important bu ...

, Val Balsiglia, Vigone and Villafranca. *

Susa Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...

, cantons:

Avigliana Avigliana (; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Piedmont region of Italy, with 12,129 inhabitants as of 1 January 2023. It lies about west of Turin in the Susa valley, on the motorway going from Turin to ...

Bardonecchia Bardonecchia (; ; , ) is an Italian town and ''comune'' located in the Metropolitan City of Turin, in the Piedmont region, in the western part of Susa Valley. It grew out of a small village with the works for the Fréjus Rail Tunnel, the first c ...

, Bussoleno, Cesana,

Giaveno Giaveno is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about west of Turin. History Giaveno has very ancient origins; some local historians trace the first settlement back to Roman time ...

Oulx Oulx (, , ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about west of Turin, in the Susa Valley on the border with France. Names Like many other towns in the Susa Valley, Oulx has diff ...

and Villar Almese. Its population in 1812 was 399,237, and its area was 414,526 hectares.

Governing Prefects

*26 August 1802–1805—Victor Hercule Joseph Ferdinand comte de Lavilla de Villasteloni *1805–1808—Pierre Loysel *1808–1809—Étienne Vincent Marnolia *19 February 1809–1813—Alexandre Théodore Victor de Lameth baron de Lameth

References

Former departments of France in Italy French First Republic 1802 establishments in France Province of Turin {{France-hist-stub