Atlas of Monferrato

San Salvatore Monferrato: sights, history and trails

Alessandria

Elevation: 205 m above sea level
Area: 31.69 km²
Demonym: sansalvatoresi
Patron saint: St. Cyriac and Pentecost

A closer look

Discovering San Salvatore Monferrato

San Salvatore Monferrato (San Salvador Monfrà in Piemontese /sUDI sɑlvɑː'dər mən/) is an Italian municipality of 4 060 inhabitants^[1] from the province of Alessandria in the Piemonte. Located 10 kilometers north of the Alessandria, on the hills that separate the flat areas of Casale and Alessandria.

History of San Salvatore Monferrato

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Of probably Roman origins, known as Villa in Vites and from 1048 castrum Sancti Salvatoris.
William V of Monferrato obtained it from Barbarossa in 1164. From the 14th century to 1708 (when he passed under the Savoy), he was part of alternate phases of the duchy of Milan or of Marquisate of Monferrato (Paleologus and Gonzaga).
During the Second War of Independence, in April 1859, it was the headquarters of Vittorio Emanuele II.

Umberto I, King of Italy, with R.D. of 18 October and RR.LL.PP. 30 December 1894^[4] has given San Salvatore Monferrato the title of city.

Agricultural municipality, mainly linked to the culture of wine, production put in crisis at the end of the nineteenth century by the scourge of phylloxera, has linked its economic growth to the development of manufacturing industries (calzaturifici, sports clothing, furniture) and to the success of the district of gold that heads the neighboring Valenza, attracting, in the years of the economic boom, a vigorous migratory flow, especially from the municipalities of Agerola and Leonforte.

The landscape of San Salvatore is that of the lower Monferrato, hills and rows of vines at loss of eye. These views have often been reproduced and idealized by artists, such as Sansalvatorese Antonio Panelli and the Alexandrian Franco Sassi (Alessandria 1912-1993) painter, designer and engraver, who dedicated to San Salvatore watercolors of small size and great effect: Views of Valparolo, Colline, The Tower and other works, made in the years '40-'50.

Symbols

«Stemma truncated with red and silver, at the gold band on the partition, each point to one letter S, of one in another. Motto: No omnia nec steps ab omnibus. Cimiero: the figure of the nascent Hercules.»

(Royal Decree of 30 December 1894)

The gonfalone is a truncated drape of white and red.

Honors

Title of City

«Regio decree»
— 18 October 1894^[4]

What to see in San Salvatore Monferrato

Church of San Martino · Church of San Siro · Church of the Holy TrinityExplore this chapter

At the 15th century it belongs to the Paleologa Tower (about 24 meters high) that dominates the city. It was built in 1413 by Theodore II Paleologo who at that time ruled the Monferrato.

Church of San Martino

The parish church of San Martino, built in the fifteenth century, has a baroque interior, rich in friezes and stuccos and paintings by Guglielmo Caccia said the Moncalvo and his school. The altars and the chapel of the Crucifix are particularly precious, protagonist of the sixteenth-century ritual of the etherro.

Church of San Siro

The church of San Siro (known from the 11th century) has in its interior the adoration of shepherds, great canvas of Moncalvo. The church of the Beata Vergine Assunta preserves the entire rococo decorative apparatus inside.

Church of the Holy Trinity

The church of the Holy Trinity, on a Latin cross, with baroque altar and a curious crucis street frescoed with the blasons of members of the homonymous brotherhood. The church of St. Anthony preserves the painting of the Moncalvo "San Michele who lowers the devil".

Sanctuary of the Madonna del Pozzo

Not far from the town is the Sanctuary of Madonna del Pozzo^[5], dating back to the 18th century and erected in memory of a Marian apparition of 1616^[6]. Inside the Sanctuary there is the miracle well in which the Virgin appeared^[7].

Buildings

San Salvatore is rich in noble palaces of the 17th-XVIII century, among which we can mention: Palazzo Cavalli di S. German, now seat of the Town Hall, Palazzo Carmagnola, Palazzo Oseo di Terno, now seat of the Library, Palazzo Bobba, Palazzo Calcamuggi di Montalero, Villa Lingua Gazzoli, headquarters of major state during the Second War of Independence, Palazzo Cavalli (formerly Merli Miglietti of Castelletto), work of a remarkable architect of juvarrian formation, presents a curious apparatus of frescoes, Palazzoini O The bell tower is the other symbol of the city. A beautiful example of "piacentinian" architecture is the Solar Colony G. Barco.
The municipal cemetery houses many chapels of historical and artistic interest, including the mausoleum of Paolo Provera, called "Tantasà", curious example of outsider art and that of the poet Igino Ugo Tarchetti, native of San Salvatore.

Villa Genova

It is equipped with garden of about ten thousand square meters, avenues and paths punctuated by cultivations of rhododendrons and azaleas, small shrubs and secular trees. It is part of the "Open Castles" system in Lower Piemonte. In the Municipal Library is deposited the Villa Fund, a precious collection of library especially of Ligurian interest, rich in rarity and valuable first editions.

Image gallery

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The parish of San Martino
Paleologa Tower
Façade of the Sanctuary of Madonna del Pozzo in S. Salvatore Monferrato
Entrance of the town and sign

Society

Demographic evolutionExplore this chapter

Demographic evolution

Inhabitants registered^[8]

The town of San Salvatore Monferrato was the scene of an important migration from the regions of South Italy, especially from Campania: this is why San Salvatore Monferrato is twinned with Agerola, a small town in the province of Naples.

Administration

TwinningExplore 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 15, 1985	May 25, 1990	Giuseppe Beccaria	Christian Democracy	Mayor	^[9]
May 25, 1990	April 24, 1995	Giuseppe Beccaria	Christian Democracy	Mayor	^[9]
April 24, 1995	December 2, 1996	Giuseppe Beccaria	center	Mayor	^[9]
December 3, 1996	April 28, 1997	Gerlando Iorio		Comm. Overtime	^[9]
April 28, 1997	May 14, 2001	Gianni Germonio	civic list	Mayor	^[9]
May 25, 2001	May 30, 2006	Giuseppe Beccaria	civic list	Mayor	^[9]
May 30, 2006	May 16, 2011	Corrado Tagliabue	civic list	Mayor	^[9]
May 16, 2011	5 June 2016	Corrado Tagliabue	list: in common with you	Mayor	^[9]
5 June 2016	October 4, 2021	Enrico Beccaria	civic list	Mayor	^[9]
October 4, 2021	in office	Corrado Tagliabue	Lista civica: San Salvatore Insieme	Mayor	^[9]

Twinning

Agerola, since 2011

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).
^ ^to ^b Official Araldic Consultation Bulletin, vol. II, n. 10, May 1895, p. 236.
^ fundambiente.it, https://web.archive.org/web/20210513091908/https://www.fondoambiente.it/luoghi/santuario-della-madonna-del-pozzo?ldc Missing title for url urlarchivio (help). Retrieved 13 May 2021 (archived fromoriginal url on 13 May 2021).
^ Roncati, Emilio, The Sanctuary of Madonna del Pozzo in documents and tradition, Casale Monferrato Tip. Cassone, 1926..
^ Shoulder, Hannibal. The Sanctuary of the Madonna del Pozzo in San Salvatore Monferrato, 2000.
^
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 Register of local and regional administrators

Bibliography

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E. Roncati, The Sanctuary of the Madonna del Pozzo in documents and tradition, Casale Monferrato, 1926. http://id.sbn.it/bid/TO00327714
Pietro Luigi Alessio, The Statutes of San Salvatore, Milan, 1955 - pdf text. [1]
Free Ferraris, The revolt of the peasants of San Salvatore Monferrato - 24/25 October 1898, Alessandria 1976 - pdf text. [2]
Pollini, Carlo Lucio, The sanctuary of N. S. of the well in documents and tradition. http://id.sbn.it/bid/RMS1921516
Aldo di Ricaldone, San Salvatore Monferrato from the Roman Age to the 19th century, Genoa 1980.
A. Shoulder, The Sanctuary of the Madonna del Pozzo in S. Salvatore Monferrato, S. Salvatore Monf., 2000.http://id.sbn.it/bid/BVE0229372
Ettore Dezza-Fabio Prevignano (edited by), San Salvatore Monferrato routes between history art and culture, S, Salvatore 2011.