Brignano-Frascata is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) in the

Province of Alessandria The province of Alessandria (; ; in Piedmontese of Alessandria: ''provinsa ëd Lissändria'') is an Italian Provinces of Italy, province, with a population of some 425,000, which forms the southeastern part of the region of Piedmont. The prov ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

region

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

, located about east of

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) 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 from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

and about southeast of

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, ...

History

Discoveries in Serra del Monte indicate the area was frequented in the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

period. After the Lombard period, the municipal territory of Brignano-Frascata was under the control of

Bobbio Abbey Bobbio Abbey (Italian: ''Abbazia di San Colombano'') is a monastery founded by Irish Saint Columbanus in 614, around which later grew up the town of Bobbio, in the province of Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It is dedicated to Saint Columbanus. ...

, which added it to the monastic court of

Casasco Casasco is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital ...

. Later, during the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...

, the area was under the jurisdiction of the bishops of Tortona from 1157. In 1375, it became a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

of the

Duke of Milan Milan was ruled by dukes from the 13th century to 1814, after which it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia by the Congress of Vienna. List of dukes of Milan House of Visconti In 1395, Gian Galeazzo Visconti was titled Duke ...

, granted to the Genoese

Spinola family The House of Spinola, or Spinola family, is a Genoese noble family which played a leading role in the Republic of Genoa. Their influence was at its greatest extent in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Notable members Guido Spinola was ...

. On the morning of June 1, 1478, Napoleone and Giovanni Antonio Spinola attacked their brother Battista and his family in the castle of Brignano. Battista and his three sons were killed in the attack, and one of his daughters died shortly after from her injuries. As a result of the confiscation of the assassins' assets, the fief passed to Battista's son-in-law Enrico Bigurra, who sold it in 1485 to Cavalchino Guidobono for 13,500 imperial

lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current Turkish lira, currency of Turkey and also the local name of the Lebanese pound, currencies of Lebanon and of Syrian pound, Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, ...

. From 1685 to around 1800 the area belonged to the Ferrari of San Sebastiano. It became a ''comune'' in 1928 following the merger of the ''comuni'' of Brignano del Curone and Frascata. Until 1947, the ''comune'' also included the territory of the ''comune'' of

Momperone Momperone is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria. Momperone borders the following municipalities: Brignano-Frascata, Cas ...

References

Cities and towns in Piedmont {{Alessandria-geo-stub