Mombercelli: sights, history and trails

Mombercelli sits on the gentle hill of Valtiglione south of Asti, in an area famous for its vineyards and hazelnut groves, and which fuels an important wine production.
It is essentially divided into 3 areas: The Pontetto, the Piana and the square, but the hilly territory also widens in the houses scattered of villages Costarossa, Roeto, Tocco, Variala, Bronzino, etc. The village is connected only by provincial roads, west with the adjacent Montegrosso d'Asti, to the north with the territories of the Rocchetta Tanaro natural park, to the south it connects with Castelnuovo Calcea and more south-east with the most famous town of Nizza Monferrato. The country's motto, Hospes veniat, fugiat hostis (the guest comes, the hostile flees), offers welcome and welcome to those who appreciate this glimpse of the hill.

Mombercelli was born in the 10th century, most likely as a fortified Lombard village, along with the nearby lands of Malamorte (the current one Belveglio) e Vigliano d'Asti. More certain documents certainly date it in 1125 as part of a Imperial fief which included mainly the territories of Rocca d'Arazzo, Rocchetta Tanaro, Vinchio, Castelnuovo Calcea, etc. under the dominion of Loreto d'Asti, location near the current one Costigliole d'Asti.

On the origin of his name there are several hypotheses: mons bergerum, the Latin name given to the hilly relief, the Piedmontese mont birch, indicating the local birches, but much more probably the Lombard ♪, that is, a hunting place.

In 1160, the lords of Asti signed agreements with Marchesato del Monferrato for a military alliance in order to build its own tower in the fortified fence of Mombercelli, on the border of the territories, that is the current castle, today in disuse^[4].
At that time there were clashes between the Guelph and Ghibelline families, on several occasions, with plundering and delimitation of the territories instigiani where the houses of the Marquisate of Manfredo di Lanerio - De Canelio (from which comes the current Canelli), up to the marquisate of Finale and Cortemilia and Boverio, concluding with the transfer, around 1305, of the Mombercelli territory to a certain Martino Alfieri, of the branch of the house of the same name and court treasurer of Amedeo V of Savoy as a reward for his services.
A few decades later, in 1342, Mombercelli passed into possession of Galeazzo II Visconti, former co-signor of Milan; the village remained under the Duchy of Milan for almost four centuries until the beginning of the eighteenth century. In this period Mombercelli was entrusted to the Milanese house of the May And Scaramps, who inhabited the castle until the seventeenth century, together with the noble family of Nice., but also to the Asinari Marquis of Bernezzo.
The presence of the fortified manor was, at that time, a constant problem for the Mobercellesi, forced to see continuously transiting military troops, bandits, stripped and various roadfarers. During the war between Christina of France and the brother-in-law Prince Thomas and Maurizio, Mombercelli was then occupied by the French until 1650, then to the Spanish. After the War of Spanish Succession, by the sale of Austria, Mombercelli passed to Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy and officially became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1736, then annexed to the Unification of Italy.

In the years of World War II, between 1940 and 1943, 19 Jewish refugees were interned in Mombercelli (including families with children).^[5] After September 8, 1943, with the German occupation, the group quickly dispersed. In the end, all the internees managed to save themselves (some remaining hidden in the area, others headed south to meet the Allied Army).^[6]

• Goffredo Casalis Historical and commercial geographical dictionary of the States of the Kingdom of Sardinia (...), Turin, G. Maspero, 1842, vol. 10, pp. 464–466. ISBN does not exist
• Giovanni Capellini, Of the Cortesii Tursiops and of the fossil dolphin of Mombercelli in the Astigiano, Bologna, Tip. Gamberini and Parmeggiani, 1882. ISBN non-existent
• Magistral Society of Mombercelli's Mandature. Library Regulation, Asti, Tip. Vinassa, 1893. ISBN non-existent
• Agricultural-commercial credit craft union in Mombercelli, Statutes, S. Damiano d'Asti, Tip. P. Calosso, 1900. ISBN non-existent
• Eugenio Barberis, Speech pronounced in the kindergarten of Mombercelli, discovering on July 26, 1914 the memorial stone at cav. dott. According to Zandrino and memories to other benefactors, Turin, Tip. Baravalle e Falconieri, 1914. ISBN non-existent
• Constantine Socin, The Mastodon of Mombercelli d'Asti, Turin, s. n., 1954. (Excerpt from: Publicz. Ist. Geol. Univ. Turin, (1954), fascic. 3) ISBN does not exist
• Luigi Monticone, History of Mombercelli, Asti, School Tip. San Giuseppe, 1957. ISBN non-existent
• Institute for the History of Resistance and Contemporary Society of Asti Province (edited by), Mombercelli. The first thousand years of a country where bread is called wine, Asti, Tipolito Della Rovere, 1999. ISBN non-existent
• Blythe Alice Raviola, Municipality of Mombercelli^{[interrupted link]} (PDF), up Historical-territorial maps of municipalities Piemonte, 2005. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
• Paolo Cavallo (curated by), Music sources in Piemonte. III - Asti and Province, Lucca, Italian Music Library, 2011, pp. 208–212. ISBN 978-88-7096-679-4
• Vittorio Croce (edited by), Between Gothic and Neogothic. The parish churches of Astigian, Turin, Ages Arti Grafiche, 2012, pp. 246–248. ISBN 978-88-903179-3-4