Cassine (

Piedmontese Piedmontese ( ; autonym: or ; ) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, a region of Northwest Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly regarded as an Italian ...

: ''Cassèine'') is a town and '' commune'' of the

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 prov ...

in the

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

region

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 ...

. It is located southwest of the town of

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, ...

on the left of the lower course of the Bormida in the Alto Monferrato Acquese. The town lies partly in the hills, where the ancient nucleus of the settlement formed, and partly on the plain. Its economic character is agricultural: the hills are rich in vineyards where the wines

Moscato d'Asti Moscato d'Asti is a DOCG sparkling white wine made from the Moscato bianco grape and produced mainly in the province of Asti, northwest Italy, and in smaller nearby regions in the provinces of Alessandria and Cuneo. The wine is sweet and low ...

Barbera Barbera is a red Italian wine grape variety that, as of 2000, was the third most-planted red grape variety in Italy (after Sangiovese and Montepulciano). It produces good yields and is known for deep color, full body, low tannins and high levels ...

and Freisa are produced as well as

grappa Grappa is an alcoholic beverage: a fragrant, grape-based pomace brandy of Italian origin that contains 35 to 60 percent alcohol by volume (70 to 120 Alcohol proof, US proof). Grappa is a protected name in the European Union. Grappa is made by ...

Municipal subdivisions and neighbours

In addition to the nucleus of Cassine itself (the '' capoluogo'') three ''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') 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 consolidat ...

'' fall within the boundaries of the commune: Caranzano, Gavonata, and Sant'Andrea. Cassine borders the following communes: Alice Bel Colle,

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

Gamalero Gamalero (Gamaleri in Piedmontese) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southwest of Alessandria. Gamalero borders the following municipalities: ...

, Maranzana,

Mombaruzzo Mombaruzzo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Regions of Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Asti. Mombaruzzo borders the following municipalities: Bruno (AT), Bruno, ...

, Ricaldone,

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

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

Strevi Strevi is a ''comune'' and small town in the province of Alessandria, Italy, located immediately northeast of Acqui Terme. It is one of the principal winemaking communes of the Moscato d'Asti, Passito di Moscato, and Brachetto d'Acqui Brachett ...

History

During the 10th century the town was within the domains of the Bishops of Acqui. In 1164, Emperor

Frederick I Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aa ...

granted it to the

Marquis of Montferrat The marquises and dukes of Montferrat were the rulers of a territory in Piedmont south of the Po River, Po and east of Turin. The March of Montferrat was created by Berengar II of Italy in 950 during a redistribution of power in the northwest o ...

. However, located at the edge of the

Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines ( , ; ) were factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th and 13th centu ...

marquisate, control of Cassine was contested by the Guelfs of

who conquered and destroyed the town in 1231 and subsequently exacted an annual tribute. In 1404 it was occupied by the

condottiere Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the ...

Facino Cane Facino Cane. Facino Cane da Casale (1360 – 16 May 1412), born Bonifacio Cane, was an Italian condottiero. Biography Facino Cane was born in Casale Monferrato to a noble family that produced a number of military captains and administrators. Hi ...

. Subsequently it was fortified. In 1451 the town was besieged by the Marquis of Montferrat. It was occupied by

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

in 1556, and in 1644 it was taken control of by the French. In 1707 Cassine was annexed to 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 ...

and from that time on its fortunes followed those of other towns in Piedmont.

Main sights

*The church of ''St. Francis'' (12th century), in Lombard-Gothic style, has a brickwork façade decorated with arches and two bell towers (one more recent, dating from 1644) *''Palazzo Zoppi'' (14th century) has 15th-century frescoes in the interior. A chapel in the courtyard houses a notable 14th-century panel from the Piedmontese school.

People

*Saint

Bernardino Realino Bernardino Realino (1 December 1530 – 2 July 1616) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and a professed member of the Jesuits. His entire career was devoted to the areas of Naples and Lecce. Realino pursued a career in law and served in severa ...

podestà (), also potestate or podesta in English, was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of central and northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a c ...

of Cassine in the mid-16th century. *

Pietro Rava Pietro Rava (; 21 January 1916 – 5 November 2006) was an Italian football defender and coach, who played as a full-back. He won the 1936 Summer Olympics and the 1938 FIFA World Cup with the Italy national team. Club career Rava, born in ...

(1916–2006), footballer. *

Luigi Tenco Luigi Tenco (21 March 1938 – 27 January 1967) was an Italian singer-songwriter. He died on the night of 27 January 1967 after a performance at the Sanremo Music Festival. His death was ruled to be the result of suicide, but even decades later, ...

(1938–1967), popular Italian singer, songwriter and actor.

References

Sources

*Some parts of this article were translated from its counterpart in the Italian Wikipedia, specifically fro
this version

External links

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