Melazzo: sights, history and trails

The coat of arms of the municipality of Melazzo was granted by royal decree of 9 April 1914.^[4]

The gonfalone is a white drape.

The origins of the Castle Gandolfi are preceding the year 1000: the current building still retains parts of the Lower Middle Ages restructured or integrated by neo-Gothic restorations (XIX-XX century), for example as regards the walls' crenellations.

Inside, a plaque recalls the historical fact that Edward II Plantageneto, King of England, after being deposed by his son, would not have been killed in Berkeley Castle in 1327, but found refuge in Italy spending part of his last years in Melazzo.

The parish church of S. Bartholomew (XVIII century) and, lately, of San Guido, contains decorations in Piedmont Baroque style; the homonymous pieve of San Bartolomeo, no longer existing, was located in the valley bottom between the Caliogna rio and the Erro stream. The adjoining oratory, entitled to the Dominican martyr Saint Peter martyr, dates back at least to the 16th century and preserves interesting baroque furnishings.

Near the village stands the villa of Quartino (XVII-XVIII century) built by the Scati family, which belonged Costanza Scati, the lady of the company of Queen Maria Adelaide of Savoia.

On the opposite side of the Erro, at the top of the hill of Montegressi, stands an octagonal fortification, with four corner towers "wire", also known as Tinazza, for the shape that recalls that of a flip-flop. It was built in the 14th century and guarded the outlet of the valleys of Bormida and Erro.

The church of San Secondo, currently isolated between the fields at the homonymous village, is a Romanesque building dating back to the 12th century, originally with tau and triabsidate plant (only two survive) according to a relatively frequent architectural model in the diocese of Acqui.

In the territory of Melazzo, near the mouth of the Caliogna rio, on the left bank, you can see a section of what remains of the Roman aqueduct ^[5]. The work, which dates back to the 1st century AD, was approximately 13 km, originated from the territory of Cartosio and ended in Acqui Terme, crossing the Bormida river over imposing arches which are still visible (one of the symbols of Acqui Terme ^[6]). The duct had a section of cm 120 height and cm 40 wide, the time was barreled, he was plastered internally and leaning on a vein of marl. All the aqueduct maintained an average gradient of 1,60 m 1000 m. Until the 1980s900 It was thought that the water collection point was in Tempuccio di Cartosio; during the work of consolidation of the clays near the bridge in Colombara, the speleological group of the CAI of Acqui Terme discovered that it was located more upstream presumably in Lake Scuro. ^[7]

Inhabitants registered^[8]

• Patronage with raviolata on August 24th
• Festival of Stoccafisso (month of April). During this festival there is a very unusual race, which consists in the launch of a stoccafisso along the road that surrounds the medieval castle: wins the couple of participants who make the route with the smaller number of lanci.