Monferrato

The Low Monferrato (or Casalese) is characterized by its rolling hills which, with the exception of the Sacro Monte di Crea (455 m), never reach heights higher than 400 metres; territorially it includes the part of province of Alessandria in the countries that gravitate around Casale Monferrato, one of the historical capitals of this territory. It is bordered to the north and east by the rivers Po and Tanaro. It is certainly another relevant city Valenza. The territory represents a mix between the hilly landscape and the plain which are characterized, respectively, by wine and rice cultivation. There are numerous castles as well as characteristic villages, often characterized by the typical "Pietra da Cantone" of which they are made.

The Monferrato Astigiano (or Basso Monferrato Astigiano) identifies a good part of the Province of Asti (with the exception of the Langa Astigiana) and is characterized by a predominantly hilly conformation and by several historic villages such as Moncalvo, Grazzano Badoglio, Montemagno, Montiglio north of the Tanaro river, Nizza Monferrato, Mombaruzzo, Incisa Scapaccino, Bruno, Fontanile south. Asti is the geographical heart of this macro-territory, bordered south from valley of the river Belbo and to the west approximately from the path of the Versa stream and to whose right horographic location is that area called Astesana. The highest point of the territory is the hill of Albugnano 549 meters above sea level.

There.High Monferrato extends south of the province of Alessandria, on the border with Liguria and the province of Asti. It is characterized by small villages, isolated on the hilly hills, fortified castles and there are numerous places of worship. The hills of Alto Monferrato are today famous above all for their vineyards, specialized in the production of great wines, such as the Cortese of Gavi, Brachetto d'Acqui and the Dolcetto of Ovada. The main centers are Novi Ligure, Acqui Terme, Ovada And Gavi.^[12][13][14]

In theAcquese, tourism is mainly generated by the presence of thermal springs. The thermal springs of Acqui Terme in fact they enjoyed considerable prestige already in the Ancient Rome. The city was in fact equipped with at least three thermal facilities, of which today some remains survive. A monumental aqueduct, moreover, guaranteed the supply of common water both for thermal uses and for domestic and productive ones. In this territory the production of cheeses such as Robiola di Roccaverano, besides mushrooms and chestnuts prevails.

The areas of Ninety-six and the Ovadese (also called the Oltregiogo) inherit a strong Ligurian influence, this territory historically belonged to the Republic of Genoa and begins to become part of the Piemonte only after the unity of Italy. The long past under Genoese domination is well visible from the conformation and style of the historical centers of Novi, Ovada and small villages that gravitate around the two cities. Gastronomy is also influenced by this: typical dishes of these areas are found, for example, chickpea flour, Ligurian panissa, focaccia novese and ravioli.^[15] The area of Novese is also known for the production of chocolate and cycling tradition: a Novi Ligure is the largest cycling museum in Europe, dedicated to Fausto Coppi and Costante Girardengo, originating in this area.

Twenty million years ago the Alpine chain was now constituted, in the Mediterranean area a new heat climb from the earth's mantle that determined the arch and break of the European crust from which the Sardinian block - course, the sardinian race twelfth dug on the Ligurian Gulf performing an anti-clockwise rotation of 50° and forming the Ligurian Sea. The sea covered the Hill of Turin, the Langhe, Monferrato and the Po Valley. The rotation of the Sardinian block contrasted by the African bloc produced a pressure that gave rise to the Apennines. Eight million years ago to the east of the Sardinian-course block opened a wide fracture from north to south that separated the Italian peninsula from Corsica and Sardinia, this fracture flooded until it became the Tyrrhenian Sea. In the period from 7 to 5 million years ago the Mediterranean Sea was closed and remained isolated from the Atlantic Ocean.

This produced the increase in the temperature of the waters that transformed the Mediterranean Sea into a low salted lake with many dry areas, this condition which lasted several hundred thousand years deposited sediments of type saline, evaporitis. Afterwards the Mediterranean Sea opened and the water of the ocean began to circulate, between the Alpine chain and the Apennines had formed a triangular gulf that covered the entire Po Valley. Following the continuous uprisings of the mountain and Apennines, the sea retreated from this gulf and the accumulation of sediments brought by rivers gave rise to an alluvial plain that corresponds to the current Po Valley. The marine deposits of this period are visible in the current area of the Astigiana Monferrato, but they are also present in Biellese and at the outlet of Val Sesia and Val Sassera to testify that the sea arrived almost under the mountain chain. Some islands emerged from the sea that covered Piemonte, the present Collina Torinese e del Basso Monferrato.

From fossil remains we know that the climate of that period was subtropical, and therefore warmer and humid than the present one. The water streams carried their debris forming delta on which they grazed branches of rhinoceros, elephants, deer and horses. The water streams with their erosive force removed the sediments of the previous period even hundreds of meters, covering the basin with megaconoid river deposits. A million years ago, the climate changed again, rains increased and temperatures became colder. This led to the birth of alpine glaciers, the glacial languages ran along the valleys, deepening them and widening them sometimes reaching the plain. The detritic material that came from the mountains built imposing moraine amphitheaters; they are recognizable at the outlet of Dora Riparia and Dora Baltea valleys and in areas around the lakes Major and Orta.

The Region Piemonte is the first in Italy for biodiversity and cultivation of native products. Only within the Monferrato are 74 qualities of autochthonous and exclusive apples in the area. The trade in indigenous products is a major source of income for the world-wide region, which has ten fruit and vegetable products required at national level.

Among all stands the Melone of Mirabello, a fruit climbing plant that enters the family of cucurbitaceae; the melon term indicates both the fruit and the plant. It takes its name from the city of Mirabello Monferrato Major producer. This typical Piedmontese fruit has an original oval shape that makes it easily distinguishable, peel of a straw yellow of both smooth and wrinkled shape depending on the humidity of the soil. This type of melon has a rapid growth, transplanted in the months of May-June is harvested already in July, climate permitting. The sugar pan chicory, scientifically called Cicaorium Intybus var. Foliosum, is a quality of radicchio belonging to the family of asteraceae. It is called sugar loaf due to the high quantities of vitamins and sugars that make the leaf sweet. Orbassano celery is a type of celery originating from the Monferrato region. In the seventeenth century, the Duchess of Savoy, Anna Maria of Bourbon-Orléans, when she arrived in Italy from France, had purple Tours celery grown, softer and sweeter than the Monferrato celery of the time. Over the years, the two qualities of celery were grafted together thanks to the humid soils of the Orbassano area, naturally generating a new quality with red ribs on the top and an almond flavour.^{[without source]}

The Monferrato, together with Alba, is also known as the production area of white truffle and many are the fairs in this regard, one of all the regional fair of truffle in Montechiaro d'Asti^[27].

The food and wine of the southern part of Monferrato has marked Ligurian influences.^{[without source]}

There are several well-known local wines in the kitchen.

The legend - devoid of any historical reference - tells that towards the 900 the father and mother of Aleramo del Monferrato came in Italy directed to Rome to fulfill a vote. Heads to Sezzadio, close to Acqui Terme, the woman gave birth to a boy who was given the name Aleramo, synonymous with "cheerful person". The child was entrusted to local nobles and a Saxon nurse, but his parents died and he was raised in Sezzadio.

Of noble and battleship origin, he soon became a skilled knight and was named "special knight" and "winner" at the tables of Otto I, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

Aleramo fell in love with the Emperor's daughter, the beautiful Alasia and with her escaped hiding near Pietra Ardena. Here Aleramo made the charcoal and managed to be hired among the soldiers of the bishop, vassal of the emperor and went to fight in Brescia. Soon the emperor noticed his value and boldness: he recognized and forgotten the ancient rancour for escape with his daughter, gave him the title of Marquis and assigned him the territory of the “brand”: what would have managed to surround in three days on horseback.
The origins of the name Monferrato the definitions that want it to derive from: monx ferra, fertile mountain; mun between, iron brick; mons ferratus, mountain cultivated with spelled.

With the diploma of 21 March 967 Emperor Otto I assigns to Aleramo all lands from the river Tanaro to the river Orba and to the shores of the sea the territory assumes the name of Aleramica from which, subsequently, will form the Marquisate of Monferrato; the first to be mentioned as Marchese of Monferrato will be Ranieri in 1111.

The Marquisate was later in possession of the descendants of Aleramo del Monferrato (Aleramici, second half of X -1305), Paleologi (1306 - 1533) and Gonzaga (from 1536 to 1708). The descendants of Aleramo (aleramic) ruled Monferrato until in 1306 it passed to the imperial house of the Palaiologi. The marquises of Monferrato were related to the royal houses of France and the Empire. Following the crusades they became related to the kings of Jerusalem and the imperial family of Byzantium.

It was for a few years under Spanish rule to pass to the Gonzaga (from 1536 to 1708). Under the government of Gonzaghesco, the territory will have a ducal rank becoming in 1574 the Duchy of Monferrato. A part of the duchy had already passed to the Savoy in 1631 with the succession war of Monferrato; the Savoy took full possession of Monferrato in 1708 when the Duchy of Mantua was occupied by the imperial troops of Leopold I.

In the last three centuries Monferrato has crossed, with the rest of Piemonte and the Kingdom of Sardinia, the events of Napoleonic wars, Risorgimento, the Kingdom of Italy and the Italian Republic, characterizing itself more and more as a place of viticulture, wine and other food industries.

In 1937 the new province of Asti, detached from that of Alessandria, incorporated a significant part of the historic region of Monferrato, although historically the city of Asti and belonged to the Marchesato del Monferrato only for a short period of the fourteenth century, representing previously a powerful enemy. An opposite address for the city of Chivasso, which despite being one of the preferred residences by the Marchesi di Monferrato before Casale, as well as historic capital of the marquisate, is not today considered part of the geographical region of Monferrato although it is historically part of it as Alba.

During the Second World War, after the armistice of 8 September 1943 with the Allies and German occupation, Monferrato lived in full the Resistance War, Anglo-American bombings, Partisan guerrilla (with also one of the short partisan republics, the Republic of Alto Monferrato from September to December 1944), persecution of Jews, deportations and rallies, as evidenced by those times, as^[28].

In the second half of the fifteenth century he stands out in the field of dialectal literature Gian Giorgio Alione di Asti, poet, playwright and writer who while knowing poet in French and Italian, wrote several farce in dialect, expressing himself "an astezan" and providing a lively picture of the customs and life of the time and of the Italian theater of the sixteenth century, often imbued with satire and jokes. We had to wait until the eighteenth century to find two other Monferrato dialect versifiers, namely the prior Stefano Incisa and the captain Giuseppe della Rocca, while in more recent times, i.e. in the nineteenth century, the best-known Angelo Brofferio stands out, politician, journalist and deputy linked to the Risorgimento, who he wrote dialect songs, comedies and history works.

Among the artists active in Monferrato, worthy of note are Gian Martino Spanzotti, a farmhouse and painter of the Renaissance; Andrea Pozzo, painter and Jesuit architect active in the 17th century; painter Pier Francesco Guala; Macrino d'Alba, contemporary of Spanzotti, whose works are preserved in private and public collections in the United States and Turin. His most important works can however be identified in a triptych housed in the castle Camino, in a "Madonna enthroned" preserved in the sanctuary of the Sacro Monte of Crea, in another "Madonna" preserved in the church of S. Giovanni Battista in Alba and in a "Wedding of S. Caterina" which adorns the parish church of Neviglie in the Langhe. The third Monferrato artist chronologically speaking but certainly no less relevant than the previous ones is Guglielmo Caccia, nicknamed "Il Moncalvo". Among his works we remember a "Redeemer" kept in the Civic Museum of Asti and a "Resurrection" kept in the Cathedral; Furthermore, several paintings are found in the parish churches of Grazzano Badoglio, Villadeati, Casale Monferrato, San Salvatore Monferrato, Moncalvo and Chestnut.

The architecture flourished in Monferrato from the year 1000 onwards and is well visible in the countless buildings, churches, castles and palaces of the various eras, many of which are still well preserved. It was influenced by Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance currents before transforming itself into Piedmontese Baroque since 1600. Noteworthy are two artists who worked in Monferrato: Benedetto Alfieri (1707-1767) of Asti, considered successor to Filippo Juvarra, Francesco Gallo (1672-1750) of Mondovì. Great architects such as the Magnocavallo have also worked there leaving wonderful testimonies. Francesco Ottavio Magnocavalli was born in Casale Monferrato and during his life he devoted himself with increasing commitment to the study and practice of architecture, designing countless churches and palaces in Casale and throughout Monferrato^[29].

The Monferrato still operates and works as one of the main fulcrums of propagation of the drum ball. There are many playgrounds, whose technical name is sferisterio.

The Sacred Mount of Crea is located on one of the highest hills of Basso Monferrato, near Serralunga di Crea, in province of Alessandria and was entered in 2003 by UNESCO on the list of patrimonies of humanity.

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  Sacred Mount of Crea
  Chapel of Paradise
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  Sacred Mount of Crea
  Sanctuary
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  Sacred Mount of Crea
  Chapel 19 (The Resurrection)
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  Sacred Mount of Crea
  Winter image of the Chapel 4

The strong of Gavi is a historical defensive fortress built by the Genoese on an existing medieval castle. It is a state property and is used as a museum structure. It is one of the most important monuments in the area Ninety-six and the Overseas.

The museum of the very samples, located in Novi Ligure, is the largest museum in Europe dedicated to cycling and in particular to cyclists Fausto Coppi and Costante Girardengo, who lived most of their lives in the Piedmontese city.

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  Typical landscape in the surroundings Villadeati
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  San Salvatore Monferrato
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  Castle Costigliole d'Asti
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  Castelletto Monferrato
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  Panorama from Castelnuovo Calcea with view towards Monte Rosa
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  Vignale Monferrato
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  Nizza Monferrato
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  Montabone
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  Camagna Monferrato
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  Montemagno
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  Sanctuary Virgo Fidelis, Incisa Scapaccino
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  Alto Monferrato Acquese
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  Novi Ligure
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  Fort of Gavi
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  High Monferrato Ninety-six