Atlas of Monferrato
Bosio: sights, history and trails
Alessandria
- Elevation
- 358 m above sea level
- Area
- 67,61 km2
- Demonym
- bosiesi
- Patron saint
- San Bernardo
A closer look
Discovering Bosio
Bosio (Beech in Piedmontese, Bêuxo or Bêuzo in Liguria[5], in 1945 it was called Bosio dei Martiri della Benedicta) is an Italian commune 1 043 inhabitants[2] from the province of Alessandria in the Piemonte. Place on the Ligurian Apennines, Bosio is one of the municipalities of Ninety-six, geographical region of the Lower Piemonte which takes its name from the city of Novi Ligure.
Landscape and area
The municipality is located on the northern Ligurian Apennines, on the left of the Ardana stream, tributary of Lemme , south of Alessandria . In its southern portion the...Explore this chapter
The municipality is located on the northern Ligurian Apennines, on the left of the Ardana stream, tributary of the Lemme, south of Alessandria. In its southern portion the municipality of Bosio comes to border, the only municipality of Piemonte, with the municipality of Genoa, at the Apennine watershed that separates the upper course of the Stura from that of the Leira. On this ridge is the point of the Piemonte region at the shortest distance, as the crow flies, from the Ligurian Sea, from which it is about 7 kilometers away. It is also the only Piedmontese municipality to border a municipality with access to the sea.
History of Bosio
Benedicta's massacre · The castle · SymbolsExplore this chapter
The municipality was established by legislative decree 5 March 1948, separating from the commune of Parodi Ligure the fractions of Bosio, Spessa, Serra, Costa S. Stefano and Capanne di Marcarolo. The communal territory belonged to Liguria (Division of Genoa) and was assigned to the Piemonte at the time of the Decree Rattazzi. Bosio is one of the Cities decorated in the Military Valor for the Liberation War because it was awarded the Cross of War to the Military Valor for the sacrifices of its populations and for its activity in the partisan struggle during World War II.
Benedicta's massacre
The monastery of Benedicta, an ancient medieval monastery, was chosen in spring 1944 as headquarters for partisans near the town. Monte Tobbio. It included several hundred young people who were poorly armed and had no military training.
On 7 April 1944, German and fascist forces surrounded the area and immediately passed to action. In addition to the casualties in combat, 97 people were captured and shot. Other dozens of partisans were later shot at the Turchino Pass, Voltaggio, in Cravasco, a town not far from Campomorone. Still others fell during the roundup, which lasted for several days.
Some hundreds of partisans managed to escape, while 400 others were deported to Mauthausen (two hundred of them succeeded, with the help of the population, to flee to Sesto San Giovanni station). Benedicta's cascinal was mined and blown up by the Nazis. The event is remembered by a memorial on the site of the massacre.
In 2001 the Association "Memory of Benedicta" was established, which aims to build, at the ruins of Benedicta, a permanent documentation centre dedicated to the massacre and, more generally, to the themes of war and peace. The first phase of the work of the Association has allowed to recover the large courtyard of the monastery and to consolidate the ruins.
The castle
Unlike Gavi, where the fortress still dominates the landscape, the situation of Bosio is more complex: a medieval castle certainly existed, but today there are no obvious monumental traces in the center of the village.
However, the fortified past of the country left some "indirect" signs and specific ruins in fractions.
The clearest clue of the castle is the municipal coat of arms: it depicts a silver manor with five crenellated towers. This is not an element of fantasy, but it recalls the real strategic importance that the village had as a Genoese garrison in the Oltregiogo
Symbols
The coat of arms and gonfalone of the municipality of Bosio were granted by decree of the President of the Republic of 16 April 1957.[6]
The gonfalone is a drape party of white and red.[7]
Honors
Bosio is one of the military valor for the liberation war, awarded the cross of war to the military valor for the sacrifices of its populations and for the activity in the partisan struggle during World War II.[8]
What to see in Bosio
Explore this chapter
- Church of Saints Peter and Martian
- Benedicta Abbey
- Monte Tobbio
Society
Demographic evolutionExplore this chapter
Demographic evolution
Inhabitants registered[9]
Administration
Other administrative informationExplore this chapter
Below is a table relating to the administrations that have succeeded one another in this municipality.
| Period | First citizen | Match | Load | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 June 1985 | May 26, 1990 | Giancarlo Merlo | Christian Democracy | Mayor | [10] |
| May 26, 1990 | April 24, 1995 | Tiziana Guido | civic list | Mayor | [10] |
| April 24, 1995 | June 14, 1999 | Giovanni Alessandro Ferrettino | centre-right | Mayor | [10] |
| June 14, 1999 | June 14, 2004 | Stefano Persano | civic list | Mayor | [10] |
| June 15, 2004 | June 8, 2009 | Giuliano | civic list | Mayor | [10] |
| June 8, 2009 | May 25, 2014 | Marco Ratti | civic list | Mayor | [10] |
| May 25, 2014 | May 26, 2019 | Stefano Persano | list of Bosio in the heart | Mayor | [10] |
| May 26, 2019 | June 9, 2024 | Stefano Persano | list of Bosio in the heart | Mayor | [10] |
| June 9, 2024 | in office | Domenico Merlo | Civic list All together for Bosio | Mayor | [10] |
Other administrative information
The municipality is home to the Regional Park of the Capanne di Marcarolo and was part of the Community Montana Alta Val Lemme and Alto Ovadese, now suppressed.
Economy
AgricultureExplore this chapter
Agriculture
Important agricultural activity of grapevine cultivation and wine production; Bosio, for its particular geographical location (the nearest municipality to the sea of Piemonte), has the production of two wines with a controlled and guaranteed denomination, Gavi or Cortese of Gavi and the Ovada or Dolcetto d Ovada superior and several other wines with denomination of controlled origin. The Municipality in 2012 it has a Municipal Albo of the Historic Vineyards.
Notes
Explore this chapter
- ^ Municipality of Bosio : Municipal Administration and Mayor - Municipality of Bosio 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).
- ^ The dialectal toponym is quoted in the book-diction of the Professor Gaetano Frisoni, Names of cities, villages and villages of Liguria of the Dictionary Genovese-Italian and Italian-Genovese, Genoa, Nuova Editrice Genovese, 1910-2002.
- ^ Bosio, decree 1957-04-16 DPR, concession of coat of arms and gonfalone, up Heraldic office - Municipal files, Central State Archives. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
- ^ Bozzetti of coat of arms and gonfalone of the Municipality of Bosio, up Collection of drawings from the coat of arms of municipalities and cities, Central State Archives. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ Istituto del Nastro Azzurro fra Combattenti Decorati al Valor Militare - Institutions decorated with the Cross of War at the Military Valley, up institutenastroazzurro.it. Retrieved 5 December 2018 (archived fromoriginal url on 25 November 2014).
- ^ 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 http://amministratori.interno.it/
Where to stay · Bosio
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More about Bosio and the surrounding area
Follow a thread of history and see where it leads.
Bric del Terma
The Bric del Terma (760 m asl. ) is a mountain of the Stura valley located on the border between the municipality of Masone in Liguria and the municipality of Bosio in the Piemonte .
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Pampuco · CC BY-SA 4.0Monte Tobbio
Mount Tobbio (Typeiu in Bosiese Liguria, Tuggiu in Liguria) is the mountain located at the center of the Natural Park of the Capanne di Marcarolo .
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Bbruno · CC BY-SA 3.0Lakes of the Gorzente
The Gorzente lakes are a group of three artificial invaders of the Ligurian Apennines that feed the aqueducts of Genoa: Lake Lungo (or Bigio) (684 m) and Lake Badana (also known as the local name of Lgo de Fòggiarionda ) (700 m) upstream, Lake Lavezze or Bruno (646 m) downstream. Lake Lavezze and lake Lungo, first artificial tanks for which the hydroelectric purpose is attached to water supply, are located at the border between the province of Genoa and the province of Alessandria, while Lake Badana is completely in Piedmont. They are located in the territory of the municipalities of Bosio (AL), Campomorone (GE) and Ceranesi (GE).
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Stefano59Rivaraforcommons · CC BY-SA 3.0Lakes of Lavagnina
The lakes of Lavagnina are two artificial lakes of the Ligurian Apennines in the province of Alessandria and affect the municipalities of Casaleggio Boiro , Mornese and Bosio . The lakes are called a Upper Lake and the other Lower Lake.
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Andre86 · CC0Benedicta Abbey
The Abbey of Benedicta (ligure in Beneditta, in the Middle Ages known as La Benedetta and later known since the 19th century as Villa Benedetta) was an ancient abbey located near Capanne di Marcarolo in the municipality of Bosio (AL ) at the foothills of Mount Tobbio (1.092 m) in the Ligurian Apennine between the Polcevera and Stura valleys.
Read the storyThe wine landscape
This village in wine country
Follow the link between the country, the vineyards and the neighboring territories.
The area, step by step
Trails and routes in Bosio
Asti, Alessandria and surroundings
The Wine and Flavor Route · Dolcetto · Cadegualchi–Gavi
CyclingAround the starting pointAsti, Alessandria and surroundings
Le Strade della Libertà dell’Alto Monferrato
Asti, Alessandria and surroundings
Anello dei mulini di Gavi
WalkingPlaces and landscapes along the routeAsti, Alessandria and surroundings