A SHORT INTRODUCTION

Views of Alessandria

Place of  Lega Lombarda

Rosso Palace - Town Hall

THE EASTERN PIEDMONT UNIVERSITY
School of Law

The Eastern Piedmont University is a fairly recent institution.  It began as a collection of colleges far from, yet totally dependent on the University of Turin and has only recently, in 1997, become an autonomous and independent university.
Despite its “youth”, this university has been able to grow, and thanks above all to the presence of a solidly prepared faculty, it has given life to numerous initiatives that, despite foreseeable initial difficulties, are now rapidly gaining recognition.  Alessandria in particular has now provided itself with almost all of the necessary study tools, and its convenient location, at the crossroads of the principal roads of communication, make it easy and quick to reach cities like Turin, Milan, and Genoa, offering both tranquillity and an excellent study environment.

The Prized Borsalino Business: a hat for every season

It was without a doubt two typical virtues of this land, the spirit of initiative and a healthy persistence, that helped Giuseppe Borsalino (Precetto 1842 – Alessandria 1900) blossom from a 14 year old boy working in a hat factory into one of the most important Italian industrialists of the 20th century.  Not only did he create a business, which, in 1900, counted almost a thousand employees and an annual production of a million hats, but he was also one of the first industrialists to take into consideration the social aspects and difficulties attached to modern industry.  His democratic and humanitarian ideals resulted in the creation of a health insurance and pension fund. The old Borsalino factory, which housed the famous Hat Museum until a few years ago, is now home to the Eastern Piedmont University School of Law.

This city carries, even in its very name, traces of the conflicts that characterize its medieval history.  It was, in fact, founded in 1168 by the Lombard league in the battle against Frederick Barbarossa who unsuccessfully laid siege to the city from 1174 to 1175.  The name Alessandria was given to the city to honour Pope Alexander III, protector of the league.  This name was preserved even though, for a short period of time after the Peace of Constance, in order to avoid complete destruction, the city was obliged to call itself Cesarea in honour of the Emperor who wanted to wound the pride of the rebels and his political adversaries by eradicating the city’s name.  Alessandria remained a free commune until 1348 when it was ruled by the Viscontis, then by the Sforzas, and after that the Spagnolis.  It was conquered by Prince Eugene in 1707 and ceded to the house of Savoy in 1713.  In 1728 Victor Amadeus II fortified the city of Alessandria in order to create an important strategic location and bulwark in Piedmont.  After the 1849 fall of Novara, Alessandria was garrisoned for four months by Austria.
Alessandria is famous for its city walls: it was, in fact, for a long time referred to as “Alessandria of straw” because its walls, though they were built of mud and straw, were able to resist outside attacks for four whole centuries until 1415 when the Count of Carmagnola took the city.
 

Events and Museums

The city of Alessandria and its province are rich in history and tradition and there is no shortage of places where it’s possible to relive the past, maybe even while enjoying a nice meal and a glass or two of wine.
In Marengo, for example, every two years there is a re-enactment of the famous battle which took place there between Napoleon’s French army and the Austrians on June 14, 1800.  This event is also commemorated by a museum.
Each year, dance productions are held, in Vignale,  which boast the participation of the most promising young dancers and that include exhibitions and shows of great interest.
 It is also possible to admire the Regional Wine Cellar in Vignale, located in the hills of Tufo, and the stone vaults of regional wine cellars in Acqui Terme situated in the majestic Robellini Palace, which contain 90% of the Brachetto produced in Italy.  
Add to all this the numerous churches and the local museums, such as the Ovada Museum of Natural History, the Synagogue and Jewish museum in Casale Monferrato and the Municipal Art Gallery in Alessandria, all of which contain artistic and cultural treasures of inestimable value.

In the heart of Acqui Terme, a few kilometres from Alessandria, we can find the famous “Bollente” from which 540 litres of water per minute gush at a temperature of 75°c.  The beneficial and therapeutic properties of this water were already recognized in Roman times, during which Acqui Terme was a well-known thermal baths station.  
This city’s fame soon stretched beyond the borders of its country and even now, in an age of great medical progress, the therapeutic nature of the sodium iodine waters rich in bromine is still uncontested, especially in the treatment of respiratory problems, traumas, and rheumatism.  And so the city of Acqui Terme offers an occasion to spend time healing and resting while staying at one of the tranquil and reserved accommodations typical to this area. 

Wine and Truffles: What Passion!

This land of hills, plains, and mountains offers a rich variety of products: D.O.C. and D.O.C.G. wines (the Brachetto of Acqui, the Gavi of Novi, the Cortese of Tortona, the Dolcetto of Acqui and Ovada, the Barbera of Alessandria and Casale) which, white, red, or flavoured, possess a unique quality which comes from their strong yet smooth taste and subtle perfume.
The true glory of the province of Alessandria is, however, the truffle, an underground fungus that grows only in soil rich in silicon near certain types of trees that favour their development and are common in Piedmont.  There are over 100 different varieties of truffle in nature: the most famous is without a doubt the White truffle of Alba.
To truffle connoisseurs autumn offers many occasions to enjoy the truffle’s distinct perfume: from October to November in Murisengo, San Bastiano Curone, Odalengo Piccolo, Alessandria numerous festivals are organized in honour of “King Truffle”.