Atlas of Monferrato

Voltaggio: sights, history and trails

Alessandria

Elevation: 342 m above sea level
Area: 52,18 km2
Demonym: Voltaggesi voltaggini
Patron saint: San Giovanni Battista de' Rossi

A closer look

Discovering Voltaggio

Voltaggio (Vortex od : in Liguria, Vote in Piedmont) is an Italian municipality of 657 inhabitants^[2] from the province of Alessandria in the Piemonte.

The municipality is located on the Ligurian Apennines, in the area of Ninety-six, and is crossed by the Lemme torrent and three other tributary watercourses: the Morsone river, the Barca river (which originates in the metropolitan city of Genoa) and the Carbonasca river which delimit other subordinate valleys of the country.

Together with Fraconalto is one of the municipalities with strong Ligurian influences Piemonte, maintaining close ties with the Genovesato, so much that on 12 July 2005, at the request of the municipal council, was recognized Honorary municipality of the province of Genoa (the only Piedmontese) by virtue of historical, economic and cultural links with the Ligurian capital.^[5]

History of Voltaggio

SymbolsExplore this chapter

Village included in the Brand Obertenga, passed to the heirs of Oberto, the Malaspina. In the wars between the Malaspinas and Genoa at the end of the 12th century the former had to renounce this fiefdom, which passed to ownership divided between the temporal power of the bishops of Tortona, the marquises of Gavi and the Republic of Genoa. Subject of dispute between the Duchy of Milan, Marchesato del Monferrato and the Republic of Genoa, changed several times owner, until it finally passed to the Republic, which had begun to govern the territories from the end of the 12th century. Voltaggio was in fact indispensable to the Genovese Republic as a point of passage of the stretch of the ancient Via Postumia that exceeded the Appennine Youths avoiding the Imperial fiefdoms. This road route owned by Genoa therefore crossed Fraconalto, Voltaggio, Gavi, finally arriving at Novi Ligure.

Voltaggio from then on he followed the fate of the Republic until annexation to the Kingdom of Sardinia (1815). It was plundered and partially destroyed in 1625 by Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy. In Napoleonic times, under the Ligurian Republic, he came to be part of the province of Novi that was part of Liguria, in 1859 with the law Rattazzi passed to province of Alessandria and then to Piemonte.

During the 1990 Football World Championships, the country hosted Costa Rica's national football team, which played at the stadium Luigi Ferraris in Genoa.

Symbols

The coat of arms and gonfalone of the municipality of Voltaggio were granted by decree of the President of the Republic of 18 April 2006.^[6]

"Silver, at the cross of red. Exterior ornaments from the Municipality.»

The gonfalone is a white drape.

What to see in Voltaggio

Religious architecture · Civil architecture · Natural areasExplore this chapter

Religious architecture

The parish church of Assumption and Saints Nazario and Celso preserves paintings by Sinibaldo Scorza, a local painter, and a wooden statue of the Maragliano.

The convent of Capuchin fathers built in 1595 and finished in 1604, houses an interesting art gallery with religious works between the XVI and the eighteenth century by artists from Genoa and Lombard school, such as Luca Cambiaso, Bernardo Strozzi, Lazzaro Tavarone, Giovanni Domenico Cappellino (San Cristoforo with Child and Angels)^[7], Domenico Fiasella, Gioacchino Assereto, Sinibaldo Scorza, Michelangiolo Bertolotto and Orazio De Ferrari; it preserves the 1694 painting with Sant'Onofrio the anchorite, a work by Paolo Pagani. Furthermore, the convent houses a collection of nativity scene statues by Maragliano.^[8]

In the oratory of Our Lady of Gonfalone are preserved the remains of San Clemente and much of the works of autochthonous painter Bernardo Carrosio, lived in the seventeenth century.

There are also the oratory of St. John the Baptist, with the characteristic dome, built in the nineteenth century, and the oratory of Sant'Antonio Abate, located at the southern limit of the town.

Parish Church of the Assumption and Saints Nazario and Celso

Civil architecture

It holds a beautiful Romanesque bridge, on the Lemme stream.

The Romanesque bridge over the Lemme stream to Voltaggio

Among the main historical buildings we find: Grimaldi Palace, ancient seat of tax collectors; Palazzo Galliera with trompe-l'œil decorations; house Scorza (XVI century); moreover on the dominant hill of the town are still visible some ruins of the old castle of Voltaggio.

Natural areas

The municipal territory is part of the Regional Park of the Capanne di Marcarolo and belonged, until its suppression, to Mountain community Alta Val Lemme and Alto Ovadese.

The village of Voltaggio alongside the stream Lemme

The highest peaks of the municipal area are Monte delle Figne (1172 m), Mount Taccone (1113 m), and Monte Tobbio (1092 m) and Monte Leco (1072 m). The summit of Monte Tobbio is characterized by the presence of a small church built in 1897.

Society

Demographic evolution · Institutes, bodies and associationsExplore this chapter

Demographic evolution

Inhabitants registered^[9]

Institutes, bodies and associations

Pro Loco Voltaggio born in 1959
Italian Red Cross delegation Voltaggio, born in 1993
AVIS Voltaggio, born in 1975

Culture

Celebrations and celebrationsExplore this chapter

Celebrations and celebrations

Fritellata, 25 April
Panissa Festival, 2 June
Hello Funta, AIL charity evening 21 June
Night of San Giovanni, 23 June
Voltaggio Fair, and Dinner for Voltaggio third Sunday of July
Sagra degli gnocchi al pesto from 14 August to 18 August
Estemporanea di pittura, last Sunday of August
Polentata, 15 September
Castagnata, 20 October

Infrastructure and transport

Road distances · Motorways · RailwaysExplore this chapter

Road distances

Novi Ligure: 20 km
Alessandria: 45 km
Genoa Pontedecimo: 21 km
Genoa center: 38 km
Borgo Fornari (Ronco Scrivia): 12 km
Busalla: 14 km
Carrosio: 5 km
Gavi: 9 km
Arquata Scrivia: 16 km

Motorways

The nearest highways are those of Ronco Scrivia and Busalla on the A7 Milano-Genova.

Railways

Borgo Fornari Station for Voltaggio is the closest train stop on the Turin-Genova line. However, the voltages that move by train prefer the stations of Arquata Scrivia and Ronco Scrivia, served by fast regional trains.

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 12, 1985	9 June 1990	Bernardo Battilana	Liberal Party Italian	Mayor	^[10]
9 June 1990	April 24, 1995	Bernardo Battilana	civic list	Mayor	^[10]
April 24, 1995	June 14, 1999	Giovanni Benasso	center	Mayor	^[10]
June 14, 1999	June 14, 2004	Consulate Repetto	civic list	Mayor	^[10]
June 14, 2004	June 8, 2009	Consulate Repetto	civic list	Mayor	^[10]
June 8, 2009	May 26, 2014	Lorenzo Giovanni Repetto	Civic list Voltaggio to live	Mayor	^[10]
May 26, 2014	May 26, 2019	Michele Bisio	Civic list Make the difference	Mayor	^[10]
May 26, 2019	June 9, 2024	Giuseppe Benasso	Civic list Voltaggio to live	Mayor	^[10]
June 9, 2024	in office	Giuseppe Antonio Canepa	Civic list Voltaggio in the heart	Mayor	^[10]

Notes

Explore this chapter

^ Voltaggio - Encyclopedia - Treccani, up www.treccani.it. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
^ ^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).
^ Copy filed, up tourism.provincia.genova.it. Retrieved 1 September 2015 (archived fromoriginal url on 9 September 2015).
^ Voltaggio (Alessandria D.P.R. 18.04.2006 concession of coat of arms and gonfalone, up Presidency.governo.it. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
^ Alessandro Nesi, Giovanni Domenico Cappellino. Lavender of the feet, Maniera, Florence, 2018, page. 2.
^ Ghezzi, pp. 22-43.
^
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 http://amministratori.interno.it/