Atlas of Monferrato
Balzola: sights, history and trails
Alessandria
- Elevation
- 119 m above sea level
- Area
- 16.62 km²
- Demonym
- leaps
- Patron saint
- San Rocco
A closer look
Discovering Balzola
Bàlzola (Bàussla in Piedmont) is an Italian municipality of 1 256 inhabitants[2] from the province of Alessandria in the Piemonte. On the border between provinces Alessandria and Vercelli, on the left of the river Po, rises Balzola developed at the crossroads of some secondary roads.
The municipal territory is intersected by a dense network of robes: here water is a fundamental element more than elsewhere since the prevailing crop is that of rice.[5]
The etymology of the name seems to derive from a morphological change in the territory created by the erosion of the banks of the Po and must be reconnected to the Latin term balteum, whose meaning is baldness and his diminutive balt.[6]
It is the northernmost municipality of Province.
History of Balzola
SymbolsExplore this chapter
A testimony of Roman origin with the name of Carbantia, there have been numerous discoveries of tombs, pottery and sections of road pavement, while the memory of the following centuries is also entrusted to valuable historical monuments.[6]
The village was granted by Otto III to the Abbey of Novalesa, from which it passed to Vercelli in the person of Bishop Leo, being part of the defensive system of the city. Submissive to the jurisdiction of the Marquis of Monferrato, it was granted from time to time to several feudal lords, including the accounts of Biandrate.[6]
In 1615 Balzola was devastated and burned by the troops of Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy, to prevent the Spaniards from setting up in a strategically considered center. During the Second War of Independence, in May 1859, it was the scene of a fierce fight with the Austrians.[6]
Symbols
The municipal coat of arms is chopped in silver and red: in the first partition is depicted a hawk that reaps a bundle of ears, in the second a golden rampant lion.[6]
The gonfalone consists of a blue drapery.
What to see in Balzola
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- Castle Grignolio. Neo-Gothic castle, built in the twenties of last century on project of the Arch. Carrera, has the main tower over 30 meters high. Located in Via Palestro 9, it is a renowned location location for ceremonies[8][9]
- Remains of Fassati castle, of medieval origin, but widely restored in time[8][10]
- The parish church of the Assumption was built in the eighteenth century on design by Ottavio Magnocavallo. It houses a fine painting by Orsola Caccia, daughter of the Moncalvo, of which there is a canvas in the chapel of San Rocco[11]
- In the baroque church of San Michele are preserved numerous works by the artist Pietro Francesco Guala, among which a Jacob's staircase, signed and dated 1722[12]
Society
Demographic evolutionExplore this chapter
Demographic evolution
In the last hundred years, starting from 1921, the resident population It's halved..
Inhabitants registered[13]
Economy
The rice fields also derive the country's main economic resource and the processing of this product are directed to some industrial activities in the area. The...Explore this chapter
The rice fields also derive the country's main economic resource and the processing of this product are directed to some industrial activities in the area. The production of forages instead feeds the livestock breeding. Most of the Balzola inhabitants who have left fields for industry, find employment in the companies of nearby centers Morano sul Po and of Casale Monferrato.
Administration
Below is a table relating to the administrations that have succeeded one another in this municipality.Explore this chapter
Below is a table relating to the administrations that have succeeded one another in this municipality.
| Period | First citizen | Match | Load | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 4, 1985 | May 25, 1990 | Francesco Bonafè | Italian Communist Party | Mayor | [14] |
| May 25, 1990 | April 24, 1995 | Francesco Bonafè | Democratic Party of the Left, Italian Communist Party | Mayor | [14] |
| April 24, 1995 | June 14, 1999 | Francesco Bonafè | centre-left | Mayor | [14] |
| June 14, 1999 | June 14, 2004 | Francesco Bonafè | civic list | Mayor | [14] |
| June 14, 2004 | June 8, 2009 | Luigi Carturan | civic list | Mayor | [14] |
| June 8, 2009 | May 26, 2014 | Gianfranco Bergoglio | Civic list Futura Balzola | Mayor | [14] |
| May 26, 2014 | May 27, 2019 | Armanda Grignolio | List of people Balzola alive | Mayor | [14] |
| May 27, 2019 | June 9, 2024 | Marco Torriano | Civic list Futura Balzola | Mayor | [14] |
| June 9, 2024 | in office | Marco Torriano | Civic list Futura Balzola | Mayor | [14] |
Notes
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- ^ City of Balzola : Municipal Administration and Mayor - Municipality of Balzola and city, Alessandria, Piemonte, up www.comune-italia.it. URL consulted on 5 August 2026.
- ^ to b Monthly demographic balance for the year 2026 (provisional data), up demo.istat.it, ISTAT.
- ^ Seismic classification (XLS), up risks.protezionecivile.gov.it.
- ^ Table of degrees/day of Italian Municipalities grouped by Region and Province (PDF), in Law 26 August 1993, n. 412, annex A, National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, 1 March 2011, p. 151. URL consulted on 25 April 2012 (archived fromoriginal url on 1 January 2017).
- ^ Life of laughter, up Balzola.eu. Retrieved 10 March 2025 (archived fromoriginal url on 17 February 2013).
- ^ to b c d And History, up Balzola.eu. Retrieved 10 March 2025 (archived fromoriginal url on 17 February 2013).
- ^ Piedmontese civic coat of arms, vol. I, Regional Council of Piemonte, 2016, p. 33, ISBN 978-88-96074-98-5.
- ^ to b Balzola (AL) - Castello Fassati Bertinotti and Castello Grignolio, up Castles, 24 November 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
- ^ Castle Grignoli, up Balzola.eu. Retrieved 10 March 2025 (archived fromoriginal url on 17 February 2013).
- ^ Castle Fassati, up Balzola.eu. Retrieved 10 March 2025 (archived fromoriginal url on 17 February 2013).
- ^ The Parish Church of the Assumption, up Balzola.eu. Retrieved 10 March 2025 (archived fromoriginal url on 17 February 2013).
- ^ Church of S. Michael, up Balzola.eu. Retrieved 10 March 2025 (archived fromoriginal url on 17 February 2013).
- ^ Data taken from:
- Resident population of the municipalities. Censuses from 1861 to 1991 (PDF), up ebiblio.istat.it, ISTAT.
- Resident population - Time series, up exploredati.istat.it.
Please note: 2021 data refers to permanent census data as of December 31 of that year.
- ^ to b c d And f g h the Register of local and regional administrators, Department for Internal and Territorial Affairs.
Bibliography
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- Don Giacomo Mandrino, My writing on Balzola, 1868.
- Giuseppe Niccolini, A zonzonzo for the surrounding area of Casale Monferrato, Florence - Rome - Turin, Ermanno Loescher, 1877, pp. 17-25.
- Luigi Piazzano, Balzola and its historical events, 1937.
- Virginio Bussi, Carbantia and Ad Medias of Roman itineraries, 1941.
- Luigi Torriano, Fifty years of life, 1943.
- Idro Grignolio, Balzola in the history of Vercellese and Monferrato, 1972.
- AA.VV., The Piemonte country by country, Florence, Ed. Bonechi, 1993.
- Idro Grignolio, B26 Marauder's "Cindy the II", 1994.
Where to stay · Balzola
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More about Balzola and the surrounding area
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