Racconigi ( pms, Racunis) is a town and ''

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 ...

'' in

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

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 re ...

. It is located in the

province of Cuneo Cuneo (Italian), or Coni (Piedmontese), is a province in the southwest of the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west it borders on the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ( departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Haut ...

, south 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 north of

Cuneo Cuneo (; pms, Coni ; oc, Coni/Couni ; french: Coni ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in ...

by rail.

History

The town was founded in medieval times. It was a possession of the marquisses of Saluzzo, of the princes of Acaia and of the

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 ...

Carignano Carignano may refer to: Places * Carignano, Piedmont, a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Italy * Palazzo Carignano, a historical building in the centre of Turin, Italy * Teatro Carignano, a theatre in Turin, Italy People * Hou ...

. On 24 October 1909 King

Victor Emmanuel III The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

and

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

concluded a secret agreement at Racconigi, known as the ''

Racconigi Bargain On 24 October 1909 King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Nicholas II of Russian Empire concluded a secret agreement at Racconigi, known as the Racconigi Bargain. It stated that: * If Russia or Italy are to conclude agreements concerning Eastern Eu ...

''.

Geography

Racconigi is located in the northern borders of its province with the

Metropolitan City of Turin The Metropolitan City of Turin ( it, Città metropolitana di Torino, Piedmontese: ''Sità metropolitan-a 'd Turin'') is a metropolitan city in the Piedmont region, Italy. Its capital is the city of Turin. It replaced the Province of Turin and co ...

. The town borders with the municipalities of Caramagna Piemonte,

Carmagnola Carmagnola (; pms, Carmagnòla ) 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 ...

( TO), Casalgrasso,

Cavallerleone Cavallerleone is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about north of Cuneo. Cavallerleone borders the following municipalities: Cavallermaggiore, Murello, Racconig ...

Cavallermaggiore Cavallermaggiore is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. Cavallermaggiore borders the following municipalities: Bra, Cavallerleone, Chera ...

, Lombriasco (TO),

Murello Murello is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about north of Cuneo. As of 1-1-2017, it had a population of 961 and an area of .All demographics and other statistic ...

Polonghera Polonghera is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about north of Cuneo. Polonghera borders the following municipalities: Casalgrasso, Faule, Moretta, Murello, Pa ...

and

Sommariva del Bosco Sommariva del Bosco is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. As of 1 January 2017, it had a population of 6 304 and an area of .All demograp ...

. Its municipal hamlets (''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'') are Berroni, Canapile, Migliabruna Nuova, Migliabruna Vecchia, Oia, Parruccia, San Lorenzo, Streppe, Tagliata.

Economy

The economy is mostly based on agriculture, production of

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...

and

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

, and industrial working of metal sheets.

Main sights

*'' Castle of Racconigi'': This royal residence built in 1570 on the basis of an earlier castle which dated to the beginning of the second millennium. The large park was laid out in 1755 by the French gardener Molard from designs by Le Nôtre, and enlarged in 1835. The castle became the summer residence of the

King of Italy King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader, ...

in 1901, and part of the

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Residences of the Royal House of Savoy in 1997. *'' San Giovanni Battista'': Church *'' San Domenico'': Baroque church *''

Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...

'': Baroque church *'' Church of Santissimo Nome di Gesù: Baroque church *'' LIPU'': the Italian League for the Protection of Birds, established the Centro Anatidi e Cicogne in 1985 in a large farmhouse near the castle as a site for the reintroduction of the

white stork The white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to en ...

, which became extinct in Italy as a breeding species at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The site now includes a breeding centre for various endangered species of ducks, geese and swans—notably the

white-headed duck The white-headed duck (''Oxyura leucocephala'') is a small diving duck some long. The male has a white head with black crown, a blue bill, and reddish-grey plumage. The female has a dark bill and rather duller colouring. Its breeding habitat is ...

which has been extinct in Italy since 1976—and an area of

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

where visitors can observe such migrants as

black-winged stilt The black-winged stilt (''Himantopus himantopus'') is a widely distributed very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family ( Recurvirostridae). The scientific name ''H. himantopus'' is sometimes applied to a single, almost cosmopolitan sp ...

little ringed plover The little ringed plover (''Charadrius dubius'') is a small plover. The genus name ''Charadrius'' is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from Ancient Greek ''kharadrios'' a bird found in river ...

and black-tailed godwit. *Tenuta Berroni: The estate was built in 1773 for the noble De Laugier as holiday house with beautiful gardens, a chapel and some rural buildings: it was an isolated villa in the countryside, but made entirely self-sufficient. The interior decoration and antique furniture were commissioned to the many artists who worked for Castle of Racconigi. Today it is both a private estate as well as a location for weddings, events and a set for several movies.

Notable people

* Francesco Imberti, archbishop of Vercelli. *

Umberto II en, Albert Nicholas Thomas John Maria of Savoy , house = Savoy , father = Victor Emmanuel III of Italy , mother = Princess Elena of Montenegro , birth_date = , birth_place = Racconigi, Piedmont, Kingdom of Italy , d ...

, last King of Italy, was born here.

Twin towns

* Bonneville (

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) (1990) *

Cascais Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourism in Portugal, tourist de ...

(

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

) (2003)

References

External links

Il Castello di Racconigi

Centro Anatidi e Cicogne
{{authority control Cities and towns in Piedmont Nature reserves in Italy