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Volpedo

Description

The name derives from the Latin "Vicus peculi" (village of sheep herds). A municipality in the province of Alexandria, located on the border with Lombardy, at the point where the river Currone meets the plain, near Mount Giarolo. The municipal territory is divided the old main center, which is situated on a hill at about 200 meters above sea level and several villages. Famous for being the birthplace of the artist Giuseppe Pellizza of Volpedo.
The first settlement was built by the Ligurian (an ancient Italic population), while the Romans occupied the territory during the I century A.D. During the X century the village was fortified and a Romanesque church was built. Two centuries later Volpedo shared the fate of the city of Tortona and besieged by Barbarossa, it received their help. In the XV century, the Lords Visconti of Milan ceded the town as a fief to Perino Cameri, that only a few years later, donated it to the Fabbrica of the Cathedral of Milan, from whom the inhabitants obtained recognition and a substantial autonomy. In the XVI century the town, belonging to the Guelphs, clashed with the Ghibellines of Monleale. In 1738 it was incorporated in the Kingdom of Sardinia under the domain of the Marquis of Monperone at first and in the XIX century it passed to the Malaspina.

Not to miss:

- the Romanesque Church of San Pietro, whose presence was documented in edits dating from the X century, rebuilt in the XV century. Inside it preserves frescoes of the school of the brothers Basilio, which date back to the XV-XVI centuries;
- the Parish of St. Peter, built in the XIX century, on the site where once remained the home of the Beato Giovannino Costa, the town's patron Saint. The church preserves a masterpiece, that depicts San Luigi, of the artist Pellizza of Volpedo;
- the remains of the ramparts that protected the castrum, dating from the XVI century;
- the XIX century City Hall with its arcade entrance;
- the study and birthplace of Giuseppe Pellizza of Volpedo, the famous author of il Quarto Stato (the Fourth Government). The building preserves personal items and original artworks of the painter.

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