Tanaro () was a short-lived department of the

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted un ...

and of the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

in present-day

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It was named after the river

Tanaro The Tanaro (; ; ; ) is a long river in northwestern Italy. The river begins in the Ligurian Alps, near the border with France, and is the most significant right-side tributary to the Po in terms of length, size of drainage basin (partly Alpi ...

. It was formed in 1801, when the

Subalpine Republic The Subalpine Republic () was a short-lived republic that existed between 1800 and 1802 on the territory of Piedmont during its military rule by the French Consulate. History Piedmont was the main part of the Kingdom of Sardinia which, despit ...

(formerly the mainland portion of the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

) was intended to be annexed to France. Its capital was

Asti Asti ( , ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of 74,348 inhabitants (1–1–2021) located in the Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, about east of Turin, in the plain of the Tanaro, Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and ...

, though

Alessandria Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. It is also the largest municipality of the region. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, ...

was the original intended capital. The department was disbanded in 1805, when the French conquered the

Ligurian Republic The Ligurian Republic (, , ) or Republic of Liguria was a French client republic formed by Napoleon on 14 June 1797. It consisted of the old Republic of Genoa, which covered most of the Ligurian region of Northwest Italy, and the small Imper ...

, and its territory was divided over the departments of Marengo, Montenotte and

Stura Stura () was a department of the French First Republic and of the First French Empire in present-day Italy. It was named after the river Stura di Demonte. It was formed in 1801, when the Subalpine Republic (formerly the mainland portion of th ...

Subdivision

The department was subdivided into the following

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, and certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissem ...

s and

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, th ...

(situation in 1805):Almanach Impérial pour l'an XIII
p. 358-359, accessed in Gallica 18 August 2013 *

, cantons:

Canelli Canelli (Piedmontese: ''Canèj'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region of Piedmont. As of 31 January 2024 it has a population of 10,022 Canelli is located on a bend of the river Belbo in the ''Alto Monferrat ...

, Castelnuovo,

Cocconato Cocconato is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northwest of Asti. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). Coccona ...

, Costigliole,

Mombercelli Mombercelli is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Asti. Mombercelli borders the following municipalities: Belveglio, Castelnuovo Calc ...

Montafia Montafia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about northwest of Asti. As of 31 January 2024, it had a population of 950 and an area of .All demographics and o ...

, Montechiaro, Portacomaro, Rocca d'Arazzo, San Damiano, Tigliole and

Villanova d'Asti Villanova d'Asti is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Asti, Piedmont, northern Italy. It has around 5,000 inhabitants. The economy is based on a mixture of agriculture and industry. Villanova d'Asti was founded in the Middle Ages. The main ...

. * Acqui, cantons: Acqui, Castelletto d'Orba, Dego, Incisa, Nizza Monferrato,

Santo Stefano Belbo Santo Stefano Belbo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located southeast of Turin and northeast of Cuneo. It is the birthplace of 20th century author Cesare Pavese. On its hill are a medieval ...

, Spigno and Visone. *

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English-language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingd ...

, cantons:

, Bossolasco,

Bra A bra, short for brassiere or brassière (, ; ), is a type of form-fitting underwear that is primarily used to support and cover a woman's breasts. A typical bra consists of a chest band that wraps around the torso, supporting two breast cups ...

, Canale, Cortemilia,

Guarene Guarene is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located in the area of Roero about southeast of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful vil ...

La Morra La Morra is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,668 and an area of .All demogr ...

and

Sommariva del Bosco Sommariva del Bosco is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. As of 1 January 2017, it had a population of 6 304 and an area of .All demograp ...

. Its population in 1805 was 310,459.

References

{{Annexed departments of the First French Empire Former departments of France in Italy 1801 establishments in France