Cerrina Monferrato
Encyclopedia
Cerrina Monferrato is a commune
in the Province of Alessandria
in the Italian
region Piedmont
, located about 40 km east of Turin
and about 40 km north-west of Alessandria
. Its municipal borders enclose an area of 17.1 km², which ranges in altitude between 158 and 422 metres above sea level, and touch Gabiano
to the north, Mombello Monferrato
to the east, Castelletto Merli
and Odalengo Piccolo
to the south, and Odalengo Grande
and Villamiroglio
to the west. The two principal population centres are Valle Cerrina which had a population of 583 at the time of the 2001 census, and Cerrina itself, the historic centre and capoluogo which had a population of 353. Montalero (pop. 35) and Rosingo (pop. 261) were both communes in their own right until 1928. The other settlements include Montaldo, Piancerreto and Gaminella: although the last lies mostly within the commune of Mombello Monferrato.
) which, unprecedented in their magnitude and moving at speeds of up to 55 km/h, threatened the vineyards of Monferrato and the province of Asti. Mayor of Cerrina Pier Valentino Piva was quoted as saying that ‘there are thousands of them massed on the walls of our houses from morning to night. It seems as though here we are living through a scourge from the Bible’.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in the Province of Alessandria
Province of Alessandria
The Province of Alessandria is an Italian province, with a population of some 430,000, which forms the southeastern part of the region of Piedmont. The provincial capital is the city of Alessandria....
in the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
region Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
, located about 40 km east of Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
and about 40 km north-west of Alessandria
Alessandria
-Monuments:* The Citadel * The church of Santa Maria di Castello * The church of Santa Maria del Carmine * Palazzo Ghilini * Università del Piemonte Orientale-Museums:* The Marengo Battle Museum...
. Its municipal borders enclose an area of 17.1 km², which ranges in altitude between 158 and 422 metres above sea level, and touch Gabiano
Gabiano
Gabiano is a rural comune in the north-west of the province of Alessandria, some 25 km west of Casale Monferrato. This area straddles the lowland immediately south of the Po and the furthest extension of the Monferrato hills...
to the north, Mombello Monferrato
Mombello Monferrato
Mombello Monferrato is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 45 km east of Turin and about 40 km northwest of Alessandria.-External links:*...
to the east, Castelletto Merli
Castelletto Merli
Castelletto Merli is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 40 km east of Turin and about 35 km northwest of Alessandria...
and Odalengo Piccolo
Odalengo Piccolo
Odalengo Piccolo is a commune of the Province of Alessandria in the north-west Italian region Piedmont. At the start of 2009 it had a population of 264. It is located in the Val Cerrina about 40 km east of Turin, about 13 km north of Asti and some 20 km south-west of Casale...
to the south, and Odalengo Grande
Odalengo Grande
Odalengo Grande is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 35 km east of Turin and about 40 km northwest of Alessandria....
and Villamiroglio
Villamiroglio
Villamiroglio is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 35 km east of Turin and about 45 km northwest of Alessandria...
to the west. The two principal population centres are Valle Cerrina which had a population of 583 at the time of the 2001 census, and Cerrina itself, the historic centre and capoluogo which had a population of 353. Montalero (pop. 35) and Rosingo (pop. 261) were both communes in their own right until 1928. The other settlements include Montaldo, Piancerreto and Gaminella: although the last lies mostly within the commune of Mombello Monferrato.
Notable curiosities
In 2005 Cerrina was the epicentre of swarms of locusts or grasshoppers (the local Calliptamus italicusCalliptamus italicus
Calliptamus italicus is a species of 'short-horned grasshoppers' belonging to the family Acrididae subfamily Calliptaminae.This species is native of the steppes of Central Asia, but it is nowadays present in most of Europe, in estern Palearctic ecozone, in North Africa and in the Near East.It is a...
) which, unprecedented in their magnitude and moving at speeds of up to 55 km/h, threatened the vineyards of Monferrato and the province of Asti. Mayor of Cerrina Pier Valentino Piva was quoted as saying that ‘there are thousands of them massed on the walls of our houses from morning to night. It seems as though here we are living through a scourge from the Bible’.