Atlas of Monferrato

Cortazzone: sights, history and trails

Asti

Elevation: 225 m above sea level
Area: 10.33 km²
Demonym: Cortazzonesi
Patron saint: san Second of Asti

A closer look

Discovering Cortazzone

Cortazzone (♪ ♪ in Piedmont) is an Italian municipality of 601 inhabitants^[1] from the province of Asti, belonging to the consortium of the union of Alto Astigiano municipalities.

History of Cortazzone

SymbolsExplore this chapter

It is believed that the origin of the village dates back to the end of the 9th century. The toponym presumably derives from Curtis Azonis (name still present in the coat of arms of the Municipality), from the name of the first Lord Azzone (identified by some with the Count of Modena) who in 1094/1095 donated it to the bishopric of Pavia, who enfeoffed it to the Monks of the Red Tower of Asti. From these the fiefdom passed in 1314 to the powerful Pelletta banking family, also vassals of the bishop of Pavia. In 1370, in the castle of Cortazzone, Jacopo dal Verme and Rinaldo de Bulendorf, captains of Galeazzo II, granted the castle of Cortazzone to Giovanni Asinari and Enrichetto Pelletta, obtaining in exchange the oath of loyalty of the two Asti people and members of their families to the Visconti and their commitment to fight the lord's adversaries^[4].

The Pellettas ruled over the territory for about four centuries, except for the short period (1374/1395) of Viscontian domination in which it was infeuded to the Dal Verme^[5], particularly in the person of Luchino Novello^[6], son of Luchino Dal Verme, together with his brother and leader Jacopo Dal Verme.

Extinguished the main branch of the dynasty, the village passed to the descendant of a cadet branch (Irene Pelletta) and from her, following marriage in 1734, to the Count of Favria and later to his son Vittorio Amedeo count of Govone. On his death (1792) he read the fief to the Order of Saints Maurizio and Lazzaro, which dominated the territory until 1860, when he sold it to lots thus marking the passage from the feudal economy to the small peasant property.

The town followed the historical fortunes of Italy, with its small and great facts of everyday life and news, the most serious of which was in 1990 the mysterious and efferato assassinaio del Parroco, Don Guglielmo Alessio.^[7]

Symbols

The coat of arms and gonfalone were granted by the decree of the President of the Republic of 6 November 1996.^[8]

"Stemma d'oro, al leone d'azzurro, allumato, linguato and armed with red, crowned with a crown of the ancient three tips, of the same, accompanied by words in capital letters of red, CURTIS, placed right, AZONIS, placed left; to the head of red, loaded of the two keys of gold, decussed, with the tangles to the hipsus and faces towards Exterior ornaments from Commune.^[8]»

The banner is a blue cloth.^[8]

What to see in Cortazzone

Church of San Secondo in the capital · Church of San Secondo di MongigliettoExplore this chapter

Church of San Secondo in the capital

Church of San Secondo di Mongiglietto

Surely it is one of the most fascinating and mysterious buildings in Italy. The first document attesting the existence of this ancient temple dates back to 1041, but the present building is at least before the year one thousand. It rises on a small relief at 241 meters above the sea level whose name, Mongiglietto, makes understand that it is located on an ancient pagan place of worship: in Latin it could be Mons. Jovis (Mount of Jupiter) or Mons Iubili (Monte della Gioia) and in this second case the place would have been the site of very ancient orgiastic rites which in the form of ecclesiastically controlled prostitution continued until after the year one thousand.

Since the places of worship maintained the same location, it is also probable that previously the hill was sacred to the cult of the Celts and that in the shadow of the oaks human sacrifices were carried out. This evocative thesis, would be further strengthened by the anthropomorphic image that creates the flow of the 5 valleys in the area, a sure meeting place for primitive peoples. The hill of the church, located right in the lower part of this hypothetical human figure, would allude to the significant symbolic importance of the place in question.

Until 1660 it was in the center of Cortazzone, then the inhabitants, for mysterious reasons, moved to the hill where the village is currently located, and the ancient church remained abandoned, along with the small cemetery surrounding it.

The location and orientation of the temple are not random; the church has an east-west orientation shifted some degrees compared to the precise astral alignment used at the time, so that it is perfectly parallel to a vein flowing at 21 meters deep. Below the point where the altar rises, this vein crosses with another almost perpendicular which flows six metres deeper, while a third vein is flowing more superficially, at 14 meters deep, passes under the baptismal font, then it crosses with the first vein under a ritual circle that stands at the center of the temple, and then with the second, to the right of the altar.

There are countless symbols, many of which have an arcane meaning, perhaps ascribable to the ancient and mysterious Order of Templar Knights. One of these is the Phoenix, a mysterious bird that according to a legend that is lost in the night of time, lived in the desert for 500 years, and who felt close to death, built a nest by woven aromatic herbs, myrrh and cinnamon, then it was lying to you burning from the rays of the sun. Three days later, from his ashes a Phoenix would be resurrected, which immediately flew to the city of Heliopolis to announce its resurrection.

There are then two-fide sirens with the two extended tails to the back, apparently in an orgyistic position, and female figures represented in the same way. Probably sexual in nature is also the image scratched on the outside wall of a man and a woman, and two breasts, perhaps to symbolize Mary Magdalene assimilated to Isis. There are also cosmological images, including a representation of the solar eclipse of 26 January 1153, and symbols that indicate different constellations, including Pegaso, the snake, fish and others, in a symbolism whose meaning has been lost in the night of time.

The shells on the facade remind us that the place was used for the shelter of pilgrims headed to Rome or Jerusalem. The "Celtic knots" instead further recall the Celtic origin of the sacred place, and indirectly the bloody rites that practiced druids. While a knot of Solomon, along with the tree of life, recalls ancient Jewish cults and primitive Christianity.

Of other images, however, the meaning is lost in the dawns of history and are not immediately understandable.

Society

Demographic evolution · Foreign ethnic groups and minoritiesExplore this chapter

Demographic evolution

Inhabitants registered^[9]

Foreign ethnic groups and minorities

According to ISTAT data on 1 January 2013 the resident foreign population was 53 people and account for 8.1% of the entire resident population. The nationalities most represented by their percentage of the total living foreign population were:

Romania 42 79.25%
Albania 1 1.89%
Ukraine 1 1.89%
Spain 1 1.89%
United Kingdom 1 1.89%
France 1 1.89%
Ecuador 1 1.89%
Dominican Republic 1 1.89%
Venezuela 1 1.89%
Morocco 1 1.89%
Ethiopia 1 1.89%
China 1 1.89%

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 24, 1985	May 23, 1990	Giovanna Gandolfo Fex	-	Mayor	^[10]
May 23, 1990	April 24, 1995	Carlo Foglia	Christian Democracy	Mayor	^[10]
April 24, 1995	June 14, 1999	Carlo Foglia	center	Mayor	^[10]
June 14, 1999	June 14, 2004	Simonetta Ventura	civic list	Mayor	^[10]
June 14, 2004	June 8, 2009	Simonetta Ventura	civic list	Mayor	^[10]
June 8, 2009	May 26, 2014	Francesco Chiara	List of Towns with you	Mayor	^[10]
May 26, 2014	May 26, 2019	Francesco Chiara	List of Towns with you	Mayor	^[10]^[11]
May 26, 2019	June 10, 2024	Francesco Chiara	List of Towns with you	Mayor	^[10]
June 10, 202	in office	Federico Tollio	Civic list Cortazzone	Mayor	^[10]