Alba, Italy

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Comune di Alba
Municipal coat of arms
Country	Italy
Region	Piedmont
Province	Cuneo (CN)
Mayor	Giuseppe Rossetto (since June 27, 2004)

Elevation	172 m
Area	54 km²
Population
- Total	29,759
- Density	551/km²
Time zone	CET, UTC+1
Coordinates	44°43′N 08°05′E
Gentilic	Albesi
Dialing code	172
Postal code	12051

Patron	St. Lawrence
- Day	August 10
Website: www.comune.alba.cn.it

Alba is town of Piedmont, Italy, in the province of Cuneo. It is considered the capital of the hilly area of Langhe, and is famous for the white truffle, peach and wine production.

A view of Via Vittorio Emanuele in the center of Alba.

The confectionery group Ferrero is based in Alba.

1 History
2 Ecclesiastical history
3 Main sights
4 Notable natives and residents of Alba
5 Twin cities
6 See also
7 Sources and external links

[edit] History

Alba's origins date before the Roman civilization, connected probably to the presence of Celt and Ligurian tribes in the area.

The town is on the site of the ancient Alba Pompeia, probably founded by the Roman consul Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo while constructing a road from Aquae Statiellae (Acqui) to Augusta Taurinorum (Turin). Alba was the birthplace of Publius Helvius Pertinax, who was the shortest reigning Roman emperor.

After the fall of the Western Empire, the city was repeatedly sacked by Burgundians, Lombards and Franks. In the 11th century it become a free commune (or city-state) and was a member of the Lombard League. Montferrat and the Visconti fought over the town; later it became a possession of the House of Gonzaga. Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy conquered it twice, while later France and Spain battled for its possession. The Treaty of Cherasco assigned Alba definitively to Savoy.

Alba won a Gold Medal for Military Valour for the heroic activity of its citizens in the Italian resistance movement during the course of World War II. In October 1944 the town was liberated by partisans who established a Republic of Alba which for a few weeks was able to maintain its independance from the Fascist Republic of Salò.

[edit] Ecclesiastical history

The diocese of Alba Pompeia comprises eighty towns in the civilian province of Cuneo and two in the province of Alexandria. Heading the list of the bishops of Alba is a St. Dionysius, of whom we are told that after serving there for some years he became Archbishop of Milan. He was the Dionysius who so energetically opposed Arianism and was exiled in the year 355 by the Emperor Constans. Papebroch (Acta SS., VI, 40) disputes the reliability of this tradition, since a bishop of that period was forbidden to leave his diocese for another. A list of nine early bishops of Alba, from another St. Dionysius (380) down to a Bishop Julius (553), was compiled from sepulchral inscriptions found in the cathedral of alba towards the end of the fifteenth century by Dalmazzo Berendenco, an antiquarian. De Rossi, however, on examination proved it a forgery (Boll. di Arch. Crist., 1868, 45-47).

The first bishop of Alba of whose existence we are certain is Lampradius who was present at the synod held in Rome in 499 under Pope Symmachus (Mansi, VIII, 235, Mon. Germ. Hist., Auct. Antiq. XII, 400.) In the series of bishops, Benzo is notable as an adversary of Gregory VII and a partisan of the Empire in the struggle of the Investitures. (Orsi, "Un libellista del sec. XI", in "Rivista storica Italiana", 1884, p. 427.)

The diocese had in the early 20th century 101 parishes; 276 secular priests; 11 regulars; 403 churches and chapels; 10 seminaries.

[edit] Main sights

Of the Roman city, which had a polygonal form, parts of fortified gate and remains of some edifices with marbles and mosaics can still be seen.

Other attractions include:

The Palazzo Comunale (13th century, housing a Nativity by Macrino d'Alba of 1501) and the Bishop Palace.
Some towers of 14th-15th centuries: Alba was once known as the "City with hundred towers".

The Cathedral of Alba.

the Romanesque Cathedral of San Lorenzo (Duomo), built in 12th century, probably over holy edifices of Roman age. It was restructured in 15th century, by bishop Andrea Novelli, and again in the following centuries. The current appearance is from the controversial restoration of 19th century, of which the three portals and the crpyt are from the original edifice. The church is well known for its wood-carved chorus made in 1512 by Bernardino Fossati. The current belfry, from the 12th century, includes entirely the original bell tower.
The Gothic church of San Domenico (13th-14th century]], the most artistically relevant church in town. It has a noteworthy portal with a triple arch within an ogival arch, a polygonal apse and traces of Renaissance frescoes. During the Napoleonic Wars it was used a stable, and was reconsecrated on June 22, 1827.
The Baroque church of St. John the Baptist, housing a Madonna of the Graces (1377) by Barnaba da Modena and a Madonna with Saints (1508) by Macrino d'Alba.

The city museums include the F. Eusebio Municipal Museum of Archaeology and Natural Science.

[edit] Notable natives and residents of Alba

Publius Helvius Pertinax (125–103), Governor of Britain c.185–187 and Roman Emperor for the first 86 days of 193 AD was born in Alba.
The Blessed Margaret of Savoy (1390–1464), child bride and childless, youthful widow of Theodore II, Marquess of Montferrat established, ruled over, and was interred in a monastery here.
Beppe Fenoglio (1922–1963) was a writer born in Alba and a (royalist) partisan fighter who participated in the brief liberation of the town from Nazi-Fascist control in 1944; the struggle is depicted in his semi-autobiographical novel Johnny the Partisan (Italian Il partigiano Johnny).