Racconigi ( pms, Racunis) is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It is located in the

province of Cuneo Cuneo ( Italian), or Coni ( Piedmontese), is a province in the southwest of the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west it borders on the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and H ...

, south of

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, and north of

Cuneo Cuneo (; pms, Coni ; oc, Coni/Couni ; french: Coni ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in ...

by rail.

History

The town was founded in medieval times. It was a possession of the marquisses of Saluzzo, of the princes of Acaia and of the

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Sa ...

Carignano Carignano may refer to: Places * Carignano, Piedmont, a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Italy * Palazzo Carignano, a historical building in the centre of Turin, Italy * Teatro Carignano, a theatre in Turin, Italy People * Hou ...

. On 24 October 1909 King Victor Emmanuel III of

and Nicholas II of

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

concluded a secret agreement at Racconigi, known as the '' Racconigi Bargain''.

Geography

Racconigi is located in the northern borders of its province with the

Metropolitan City of Turin The Metropolitan City of Turin ( it, Città metropolitana di Torino, Piedmontese: ''Sità metropolitan-a 'd Turin'') is a metropolitan city in the Piedmont region, Italy. Its capital is the city of Turin. It replaced the Province of Turin and ...

. The town borders with the municipalities of

Caramagna Piemonte Caramagna Piemonte is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. Caramagna Piemonte borders the following municipal lands: Carmagnola, Racconig ...

, Carmagnola ( TO), Casalgrasso, Cavallerleone, Cavallermaggiore,

Lombriasco Lombriasco is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of t ...

(TO), Murello, Polonghera and Sommariva del Bosco. Its municipal hamlets (''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'') are Berroni, Canapile, Migliabruna Nuova, Migliabruna Vecchia, Oia, Parruccia, San Lorenzo, Streppe, Tagliata.

Economy

The economy is mostly based on agriculture, production of

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulat ...

and meat, and industrial working of metal sheets.

Main sights

*''

Castle of Racconigi The Royal Castle of Racconigi is a palace and landscape park in Racconigi, province of Cuneo, Italy. It was the official residence of the Carignano line of the House of Savoy, and is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy included by U ...

'': This royal residence built in 1570 on the basis of an earlier castle which dated to the beginning of the second millennium. The large park was laid out in 1755 by the French gardener Molard from designs by Le Nôtre, and enlarged in 1835. The castle became the summer residence of the

King of Italy King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader ...

in 1901, and part of the

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

Residences of the Royal House of Savoy The Residences of the Royal House of Savoy are a group of buildings in Turin and the Metropolitan City of Turin, in Piedmont (northern Italy). It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1997. History The House of Savoy is an ancient r ...

in 1997. *'' San Giovanni Battista'': Church *'' San Domenico'': Baroque church *''

Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the large ...

'': Baroque church *'' Church of Santissimo Nome di Gesù: Baroque church *''

LIPU LIPU, the Lega italiana protezione uccelli (En. “Italian League for Bird Protection”) is an Italian charitable organisation, founded in 1965 and devoted to the protection of the country's wildlife with a particular focus on birds. It has a mem ...

'': the Italian League for the Protection of Birds, established the Centro Anatidi e Cicogne in 1985 in a large farmhouse near the castle as a site for the reintroduction of the white stork, which became extinct in Italy as a breeding species at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The site now includes a breeding centre for various endangered species of ducks, geese and swans—notably the

white-headed duck The white-headed duck (''Oxyura leucocephala'') is a small diving duck some long. The male has a white head with black crown, a blue bill, and reddish-grey plumage. The female has a dark bill and rather duller colouring. Its breeding habitat is ...

which has been extinct in Italy since 1976—and an area of

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (Anoxic waters, anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in t ...

where visitors can observe such migrants as black-winged stilt,

little ringed plover The little ringed plover (''Charadrius dubius'') is a small plover. The genus name ''Charadrius'' is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from Ancient Greek ''kharadrios'' a bird found in ri ...

and

black-tailed godwit The black-tailed godwit (''Limosa limosa'') is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the godwit genus, ''Limosa''. There are four subspecies, all with orange head, neck and ches ...

. *Tenuta Berroni: The estate was built in 1773 for the noble De Laugier as holiday house with beautiful gardens, a chapel and some rural buildings: it was an isolated villa in the countryside, but made entirely self-sufficient. The interior decoration and antique furniture were commissioned to the many artists who worked for Castle of Racconigi. Today it is both a private estate as well as a location for weddings, events and a set for several movies.

Notable people

* Francesco Imberti, archbishop of Vercelli. *

Umberto II en, Albert Nicholas Thomas John Maria of Savoy , house = Savoy , father = Victor Emmanuel III of Italy , mother = Princess Elena of Montenegro , birth_date = , birth_place = Racconigi, Piedmont, Kingdom of Italy , de ...

, last King of Italy, was born here.

Twin towns

* Bonneville (

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) (1990) * Cascais (

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

) (2003)

References

External links

Il Castello di Racconigi

Centro Anatidi e Cicogne
{{authority control Cities and towns in Piedmont Nature reserves in Italy