Arquata Scrivia (local dialect: ''Auquâ'') is a ''

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 ...

'' (municipality) in the

Province of Alessandria The Province of Alessandria ( it, Provincia di Alessandria; pms, Provincia ëd Lissandria; in Piedmontese of Alessandria: ''Provinsa ëd Lissändria'') is an Italian province, with a population of some 425,000, which forms the southeastern part o ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region

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

, located about southeast 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 about southeast of Alessandria. Arquata Scrivia borders the following municipalities:

Gavi GAVI, officially Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (previously the GAVI Alliance, and before that the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) is a public–private global health partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunization ...

, Grondona,

Isola del Cantone Isola del Cantone ( lij, L'Isöa do Canton) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about north of Genoa. Isola del Cantone borders the following municipalities: Arquata Scrivia, Bu ...

Serravalle Scrivia Serravalle Scrivia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria. Serravalle Scrivia borders the following municipalities: Ar ...

, and

Vignole Borbera Vignole Borbera ( lij, Ei Vgnêue; Genoese: ''Vigneue'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria. As of 31 December 2004 ...

History

It is located on the left bank of the

Scrivia The Scrivia, long, is a right tributary of the river Po, in northern Italy. It runs through Liguria, Piedmont, and Lombardy. Main tributaries * left hand: ** torrente Laccio; ** torrente Busalletta; ** torrente Traversa; ** rio San Rocco; * ...

river. The name derives from the Latin ''arcuata'' (arched), due to the presence of an aqueduct supplying the nearby Roman town of

Libarna Libarna was a Roman city located on the left bank of the Scrivia, on the stretch of the via Postumia between Genua and Dertona. Today Libarna's hamlet is part of the municipality of Serravalle Scrivia, in Alessandria province. Libarna's excava ...

, on the

Via Postumia The Via Postumia was an ancient Roman road of northern Italy constructed in 148 BC by the ''consul'' Spurius Postumius Albinus Magnus. It ran from the coast at Genua through the mountains to Dertona, Placentia (the termination of the Via Aemil ...

. It is mentioned as a ''castrum'' (fortress) in the 11th century, and later was contended between the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...

and the commune of

Tortona Tortona (; pms, Torton-a , ; lat, Dhertona) is a ''comune'' of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines. History ...

: after they signed a peace in 1227, they dismantled the castle. In 1313, it was given by

emperor Henry VII Henry VII ( German: ''Heinrich''; c. 1273 – 24 August 1313),Kleinhenz, pg. 494 also known as Henry of Luxembourg, was Count of Luxembourg, King of Germany (or '' Rex Romanorum'') from 1308 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1312. He was the first em ...

to the Genoese

Spinola family The House of Spinola, or Spinola family, was a leading Italian political family centered in the Republic of Genoa. Their influence was at its greatest extent in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Important members Guido Spinola was one o ...

, who were named marquisses of the town in 1641. Three years later Arquata obtained also the right to strike coins of its own. It was sacked by French troops in 1796. The following year it was annexed to 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 ...

. After the fall of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, it became part 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 ...

-Piedmont. During the First World War, a team of Red Cross nurses headed by Mrs Marie Watkins used the theatre at Arquata Scrivia as a recreation room and canteen for British soldiers.

References

External links

Official website

First World War history
Arquata Scrivia Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor {{Alessandria-geo-stub