Atlas of Monferrato

Pontestura: sights, history and trails

Alessandria

Elevation: 140 m above sea level
Area: 18.92 km²
Demonym: scaffolding
Patron saint: Saint Agatha

A closer look

Discovering Pontestura

Pontestura (Pondëstura in Piedmont) is an Italian municipality of 1 336 inhabitants^[1] from the province of Alessandria in the Piemonte.

Origins of the name

The name comes from Pons Turris (bridge with tower), which also appears in the coat of arms of the municipality.Explore this chapter

The name comes from Pons Turris (bridge with tower), which also appears in the coat of arms of the Municipality.

History of Pontestura

Pontestura was summer residence of the Paleologists (Marquisi del Monferrato ). In the castle of the town three Marquis of Monferrato were born and was held prisoner Ludovico il Moro ....Explore this chapter

Pontestura was summer residence of the Paleologists (marquises of Monferrato). Three marquises of Monferrato were born in the town's castle and Ludovico il Moro was held prisoner.
In 1510 Margherita Paleologa was born, whose wedding with Federico II Gonzaga will be fundamental for the passage of the Marquisate of Monferrato among the possessions of the Duchy of Mantua.

The castle was demolished in the Napoleonic era and the main square of the village retains its name. The current pavement until the end of the eighties was used as a football field, while today it is for most of its surface a large green meadow used during the events that animate the life of the village ("Rice & Roses", July Square Festival and Antiques Markets).

On October 30, 2022 a plate was placed here by the Municipal Administration in memory of Aldo Novarese, photographer, painter, illustrator and creator of typographical characters, native to Pontestura.^[4]

What to see in Pontestura

Religious architecture · Civil architectureExplore this chapter

Religious architecture

Parish church of Sant'Agata (Seventh century), with sagrate in front of white and black river stones
Church of San Giacomo, with the symbol of the shell above the entrance door

Civil architecture

Civic Theatre "Giuseppe Verdi"
The porticos in Corso Roma, very characteristic

Image gallery

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The green area where the Castle stood
The tree-lined avenue of Piazza Castello
The arcades of Corso Roma
The Statues of Pontestura (edited by Erwig Gabotto, 1910)

Society

Demographic evolutionExplore this chapter

Demographic evolution

In the last hundred years, as of 1921, the resident population has been halved.

Inhabitants registered^[5]

Culture

MuseumsExplore this chapter

Museums

Museale depot of the works of Enrico Colombotto Rosso: it is housed in the Civic Palace of the Municipality of Pontestura. All the works exhibited within the Museum were donated by the Master to the Municipality of Pontestura to create a permanent exhibition.

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
May 31, 1986	May 27, 1990	Giuseppe Merlo	Italian Socialist Party	Mayor	^[6]
May 27, 1990	September 2, 1991	Giuseppe Merlo	Italian Socialist Party	Mayor	^[6]
September 2, 1991	April 24, 1995	Marco Figazzolo	Christian Democracy	Mayor	^[6]
April 24, 1995	June 14, 1999	Marco Figazzolo	centre-left	Mayor	^[6]
June 14, 1999	June 14, 2004	Marco Figazzolo	civic list	Mayor	^[6]
June 14, 2004	October 21, 2008	Ermanno Ricci	civic list	Mayor	^[6]
June 8, 2009	May 26, 2014	Franco Berra	Civic list We administer together	Mayor	^[6]
May 26, 2014	May 26, 2019	Franco Berra	Civic list Development environment security	Mayor	^[6]
May 26, 2019	June 9, 2024	Franco Berra	Civic list We administer together	Mayor	^[6]
June 9, 2024	in office	Matteo Benetazzo	list civic Viiamo Pontestura - Common good	Mayor	^[6]

Other administrative information

The municipal territory after the Unification of Italy has known some changes.

The municipality of Quarti, formed in the mid-17th century, was suppressed and aggregated to Pontestura in 1928.

Similarly the municipality of Coniolo He was suppressed and aggregated to Pontestura in 1928, but after World War II in 1947 he was reconstituted.

Notes

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^ ^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).
^ ilmonferrato.it, https://www.ilmonferrato.it/articolo/f8FGX1JRJEma6lZyVvhrPg/a-pontestura-una-targa-alla-memoria-di-aldo-novarese Missing title for url url (help).
^
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 ^j http://amministratori.interno.it/

Bibliography

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Edward Durando, Carriage of the monasteries of Grazzano, Vezzolano, Crea e Pontestura, Library of the Subalpine Historical Society, Corpus chartarum Italiae 30, Pinerolo, Subalpine Historical Society, 1908. Retrieved 11 July 2015.