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Alessandria
Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. It is also the largest municipality of the region. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin. Alessandria is also a major railway hub. History Alessandria was founded in 1168 with a charter as a free comune; it was sited upon a preexisting urban nucleus, to serve as a stronghold for the Lombard League, defending the traditional liberties of the communes of northern Italy against the Imperial forces of Frederick Barbarossa. Alessandria stood in the territories of the marchese of Montferrat, a staunch ally of the Emperor, with a name assumed in 1168 to honour the Emperor's opponent, Pope Alexander III. In 1174–1175 the fortress was sorely tested by the Imperial siege and stood fast. A legend (related in Umberto Eco's novel ''Baudolino'', and which recalls one concerning Bishop Herculanus’ successful d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Province Of Alessandria
The province of Alessandria (; ; in Piedmontese of Alessandria: ''provinsa ëd Lissändria'') is an Italian Provinces of Italy, province, with a population of some 425,000, which forms the southeastern part of the region of Piedmont. The provincial capital is the city of Alessandria. With an area of it is the third largest province of Piedmont after the province of Cuneo and the Metropolitan City of Turin. To the north it borders on the province of Vercelli and to the west on the Metropolitan City of Turin and the province of Asti. It shares its southern border with Liguria (province of Savona and the Metropolitan City of Genoa). Its south-east corner touches the Province of Piacenza in Emilia Romagna, while to the east it borders on the Lombardy, Lombard province of Pavia. History The province was created by the Royal Decree n. 3702 of 23 October 1859, the , as a union of five of the six provinces which had formed the Division of Alessandria (the provinces of Alessandria, A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Alessandria
The Battle of Alessandria or Battle of Castelazzo was a battle during the Florentine–Milanese Wars which was fought at Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy on 25 July 1391 between the mercenary army of Gian Galeazzo Visconti of Milan and a French army in Florentine service, under Jean III of Armagnac. It ended in victory for Milan. Background Gian Galeazzo Visconti of Milan, later the Duke of Milan, had ambitions to control the whole of northern Italy, but the city of Florence stood up against him and formed a defensive League which included Francis Novello da Carrara, Stephen III of Bavaria, and Jean III of Armagnac. In March 1390, they hired the English mercenary, John Hawkwood, and his private army to defend the town and requested help from Jean III. Hawkwood prepared defensive earthworks and repulsed an attack by a Milanese army led by General Jacopo dal Verme. He then dug in at Pandino, some 10 miles south-east of Milan, in June 1391 to await the arrival of Jean III, who was c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alessandria Cathedral
Alessandria Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy, dedicated to Saints Peter and Mark. It is the seat of the Bishop of Alessandria. History A diocese centred on Alessandria was created in 1175 by Pope Alexander III, and a cathedral dedicated to Saint Peter was built as the bishop's seat at that time. It was too small however, so was demolished and rebuilt between 1288 and 1297. This cathedral was demolished for military tactical reasons on the order of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803. The dispossessed bishop and chapter received the permission of the French general of the occupying troops to elevate the church of St Mark to the status of cathedral. This church had been built in the 13th century for the use of the Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic grou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baudolino
''Baudolino'' is a 2000 in literature, 2000 novel by Umberto Eco about the adventures of a man named Baudolino in the known and mythical Christianity, Christian world of the 12th century. ''Baudolino'' was translated into English in 2001 by William Weaver. The novel presented a number of particular difficulties in translation, not the least of which is that there are ten or so pages written in a made-up language that is a mixture of Latin, medieval Italian and other languages (intended to reconstruct how a barely-literate Italian peasant boy of the 12th century would have tried to write in the vernacular). Saint Baudolino, a historically-attested hermit of the eighth century, is the Patron Saint of Alessandria, and thus it would be natural for a boy born there to bear his name. Plot summary In the year of 1204, Baudolino of Alessandria enters Constantinople, unaware of the Fourth Crusade that has thrown the city into chaos. In the confusion, he meets Niketas Choniates and saves ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 northwest. Piedmont also borders Switzerland to the north and France to the west. Piedmont has an area of , making it the second-largest region of Italy after Sicily. It has 4,255,702 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital of Piedmont is Turin, which was also the capital of the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 to 1865. Toponymy The French ''Piedmont'', the Italian ''Piemonte'', and other variant cognates come from the medieval Latin or , i.e. , meaning "at the foot of the mountains" (referring to the Alps), attested in documents from the end of the 12th century. Geography Piedmont is surrounded on three sides by the Alps, including Monte Viso, Monviso, where the Po River, river Po rises, and Monte Rosa. It borders France (Auvergne-Rhône ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Baudolino
Saint Baudolino (c. 700 – c. 740) was a hermit who lived at the time of the Lombard king Liutprand in Forum Fulvii (now Villa del Foro), a locality on the lower reaches of the river Tanaro in north-west Italy. He is said to have been the son of a noble family, but to have given all his wealth to the poor before moving to a miserable hut near the river. He is the patron saint of the nearby city of Alessandria, where his feast is celebrated on the Sunday following 10 November. Life He is first mentioned in the ''Historia Langobardorum'' () which was written some forty years after his death by Paul the Deacon. Baodolinus is described there as “a man of wonderful holiness…who was distinguished for many miracles”, and as having been endowed with the gifts of clairvoyance and prophecy. One specific miracle is recorded. When Liutprand is hunting in the forest near Forum, and his nephew Aufusus is accidentally injured by an arrow, the king sends to Baodolinus asking him to pray ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spinetta Marengo
Spinetta Marengo () is a town in Piedmont, Italy located within the municipal boundaries of the ''comune'' of Alessandria. The population is 6,417. On 14 June 1800 the village was the scene of an important battle between the French army commanded by Napoleon and an Austrian army led by Melas. Every second Sunday in June, there is traditionally a costumed commemoration of the battle, drawing many international visitors. According to local legend, Majno, a thief who was said to have robbed Pope Pius VII while on his way to Paris in 1804 to crown Napoleon emperor, laid up in hiding in the woods of , just by Spinetta Marengo. The dish Chicken Marengo is named after the town. According to legend, Napoleon's chef created the dish from the few ingredients he could find after the battle, using a sabre instead of a cooking knife. Museum A museum about the battle is today housed in the Villa Delavo, inaugurated in 1847 and built by Antonio Delavo. In this museum you can see mural paint ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montferrat
Montferrat ( , ; ; , ; ) is a historical region of Piedmont, in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Province of Alessandria, Alessandria and Province of Asti, Asti. Montferrat is one of the most important wine districts of Italy. It also has a strong literary tradition, including the 18th-century Asti-born poet and dramatist Vittorio Alfieri and the Alessandrian Umberto Eco. The territory is cut in two by the river Tanaro River, Tanaro. The northern part (the Basso Monferrato, "Low Montferrat"), which lies between that river and the Po River, Po, is an area of rolling hills and plains. The southern part (the Alto Monferrato, "High Montferrat") rises from the banks of the Tanaro into the mountains of the Apennine Mountains, Apennines and the drainage divide, water divide between Piedmont and Liguria. On 22 June 2014, Montferrat was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. History Originally a county, it was el ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tanaro River
The Tanaro (; ; ; ) 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 drainage basin (partly Alpine, partly Apennine), and discharge. Geography Sources The Tanaro rises at the border between Piedmont and Liguria at the confluence of two smaller streams: the Tanarello and the Negrone. The main source of the Tanarello is on the slopes of Monte Saccarello above Monesi, a village belonging to the commune of Triora. This mountain straddles the French département of Alpes-Maritimes, the Piedmontese province of Cuneo and the Ligurian province of Imperia and marks the juncture of the watersheds between three drainage basins: Tanaro itself; Roya (), which rises in France but enters the sea at Ventimiglia; and Argentina, which flows into the Ligurian Sea at Taggia. The sources of the Negrone are not far from Punta Marguareis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asti
Asti ( , ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of 74,348 inhabitants (1–1–2021) located in the Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, about east of Turin, in the plain of the Tanaro, Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deemed to be the modern Capital city, capital of Montferrat. History Ancient times and early Middle Ages People have lived in and around what is now Asti since the Neolithic period. Before their defeat in 174 BC by the Romans, tribes of Ligures, the Statielli, dominated the area and the toponym probably derives from ''Ast'' which means "hill" in the ancient Celtic language. In 124 BC the Romans built a ''castrum'', or fortified camp, which eventually evolved into a full city named Hasta. In 89 BC the city received the status of ''Colonia (Roman), colonia'', and in 49 BC that of ''municipium''. Asti became an important city of the Augustan Italia (Roman Empire), Regio IX, favoured by its strategic position on the Tanaro river a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian Medieval studies, medievalist, philosopher, Semiotics, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel ''The Name of the Rose'', a historical mystery combining semiotics in fiction with biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory, as well as ''Foucault's Pendulum'', his 1988 novel which touches on similar themes. Eco wrote prolifically throughout his life, with his output including children's books, translations from French and English, in addition to a twice-monthly newspaper column "La Bustina di Minerva" (Minerva's Matchbook) in the magazine ''L'Espresso'' beginning in 1985, with his last column (a critical appraisal of the Romanticism, Romantic paintings of Francesco Hayez) appearing 27 January 2016. At the time of his death, he was an Emeritus professor at the University of Bologna, where he taught for much of hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John III, Count Of Armagnac
John III of Armagnac (1359 – July 25, 1391) was Count of Armagnac and also of Fézensac and Rodez from 1384 until his death. He was the son of John II of Armagnac and Joan of Périgord. In 1390, John claimed the Kingdom of Majorca, but was overcome by the troops of John I of Aragon in a battle near Navata. John consequently led military actions in Roussillon. In 1391, he had to leave for Italy in order to go to the assistance of Charles Visconti, Lord of Parma and husband of his sister, Beatrice of Armagnac. Visconti was in conflict with his acquisitive cousin Gian Galeazzo Visconti, later the duke of Milan, whose ambition was to control the whole of northern Italy. His army was attacked and decisively beaten by that of Gian Galeazzo Visconti as it passed through Alessandria in Piedmont. John was killed in the battle. Family On May 14, 1378, John married Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
