Carmagnola
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Carmagnola (; ) 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
Metropolitan City of Turin The Metropolitan City of Turin (; Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ''sità metropolitan-a 'd Turin'') is a Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Turin. It replaced the prov ...
in the Italian 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 south 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 ...
. The town is on the right side of the
Po river The Po ( , ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy, starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is , or if the Maira (river), Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. The headwaters of the Po are forme ...
. The nature of the soil determined over time how the river's sand accumulated. Carmagnola borders the following municipalities: Poirino, Villastellone, Carignano, Lombriasco, Ceresole d'Alba, Racconigi, Sommariva del Bosco, Caramagna Piemonte.


Toponymy

The
toponymy Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper na ...
of the city of Carmagnola probably derives from the
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
"() ", in reference to a square, modestly-sized plot of land. However, some scholars argue that the toponym may derive from the Roman noble name ''Carminius''.


History

The municipality is mentioned for the first time during the 11th century. The land, originally owned by the Arduinic dynasty, passed to the Marquisate of Saluzzo, who had a castle built here. The Saluzzo dynasty soon underwent a rapid decadence ending with a French domination period which lasted 40 years. In 1588 Carmagnola became a possession of the
House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...
, when Charles Emmanuel I besieged and conquered it. France took possession of Carmagnola a second time during the 17th century, during the civil war between ''Madamisti'' and ''Principisti'' (supporters of the French and the Savoy dynasty respectively). In this period (1637–1642), the three main subdivisions were razed to the ground as they were conflicting with the defence structures, and immediately re-built around 1.5 km from their original position, where they still are at the present time. In 1690 the town was once again occupied by the French general Catinat, but just one year later Victor Amadeus II of Savoy brought it back among
Piedmontese Piedmontese ( ; autonym: or ; ) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, a region of Northwest Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly regarded as an Italian ...
possessions. While its defence buildings were being demolished and its strategic role was progressively decreasing in importance, the town could finally develop agriculture and commerce, mainly of
hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest ...
and
rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...
s, which were exported in great quantity to
Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...
and southern France. The characteristic of both agricultural and commercial site remained important until after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, which caused a massive immigration and a rapid urbanistic expansion. The name of '' La Carmagnole'', the title of a French song and dance made popular during the French Revolution, is considered to be indirectly derived from the Italian town - i.e., the customary costume of the
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 ...
ese peasants living near and around Carmagnola was named for the town; when some of these peasants came to
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, their dress influenced the popular short jacket worn by working-class militant ''
sans-culottes The (; ) were the working class, common people of the social class in France, lower classes in late 18th-century history of France, France, a great many of whom became radical and militant partisans of the French Revolution in response to their ...
'', who sang the song.


Main sights

* Abbey of Casanova. It was founded by the
Cistercians The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...
in the 12th century, although it was mostly rebuilt in a late
Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...
in the 18th century *Lomellini Palace, Contemporary Art Museum (15th century) *Castle, currently used as town hall (13th century) *Collegiate church of Sts. Peter and Paul (1492–1514) *Cascina Vigna, Civic Museum of Natural History *Sant'Agostino church (1406–1437) *San Rocco church (1699–1745) *San Filippo church (1715–1739) *Church of Saint Mary of the Snow (''Santa Maria della Neve''), Salsasio (17th century) *Synagogue (18th century) *Cavassa House (15th century) *House of the Sundials (''Casa delle Meridiane'') or Piano House (16th century) *San Lorenzo Hospital (1754–1856)


Economy

The economy of the town is currently linked to the industry and intensive production of vegetables and cereals, which the particular soil makes very productive. Industry experienced a notable growth during the 1960s, when
FIAT Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...
opened an important factory, thus attracting a growing number of immigrants from
southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...
. The rapid growth of FIAT made also possible other activities in the
metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...
,
electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...
,
optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...
,
chemical industry The chemical industry comprises the companies and other organizations that develop and produce industrial, specialty and other chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, the chemical industry converts raw materials ( oil, natural gas, air, ...
, and
food industry The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditional, ...
fields. Also well-developed are the banking, financial and insurance sectors.


Notable people born in or related to Carmagnola

* Francesco Bussone da Carmagnola (1380–1432), better known as ''Conte di Carmagnola'' – Renaissance Captain of Fortune,
condottiero Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the ...
. *Lorenzo Valerio (1810–1865) – politician * Enrico Saroldi (1878–1954) – sculptor * Antonio Tortone – sculptor * Guglielmo Diatto – 19th century founder of the Diatto industrial enterprise. * Francesca Maria Rubatto (1844–1904) – Catholic nun, founder of the Capuchin Sisters of Mother Rubatto *Raffaello Menochio (1858–1943) – Historical scholar and engineer *Angelo Paolo Carena (1740–1769) – Historical scholar *Giacinto Carena (1778–1859) – Philosopher,
philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...
,
naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
, secretary of the Science Academy 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 ...
* Dino Campana (1888–1932) – Poet * Ferruccio Valobra (1898–1944) –
Anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...
and partisan * Gianluigi Lentini (1969) – Soccer player * Umberto Mastroianni (1910–1998) – Sculptor, partisan, uncle of the actor
Marcello Mastroianni Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (26 September 1924Come da lui stesso dichiarato a 1'10" dquesta intervista/ref> – 19 December 1996) was an Italian actor. He is generally regarded as one of Italy's most iconic male performers of the 20t ...
*
Guido Martina Guido Martina (9 February 1906 – 6 May 1991) was an Italian comic writer, documentarist and author. Martina is well known for his Disney comics stories, including the first of the "" story "L'inferno di Topolino", and the creation of Paperini ...
(1906–1991) –
Cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...
*Davide Longo (1971) – Writer *Fabio Troiano (1974) – Actor *Andrea Fiore (1850–1914) – Bishop * Pio Marchi (1895–1942) – Soccer player * Guido Marchi (1896–1969) – Soccer player *Giorgio Sommacal (1961) – Cartoonist * Eusebio Castigliano (1921–1949) – Soccer player, centre half of the
Grande Torino The was the historic Italian football team of Torino Football Club in the 1940s, five-time champions of Italy, whose players were the backbone of the Italy national team and died on 4 May 1949 in the plane crash known as the Superga air di ...
died in the Superga air disaster * Caterina Dominici (1829–1894) beatified in 1975 * Daniela Tuninetti (born 1973), information theorist


Events

*Peppers Fair (''Sagra del Peperone''). It is held between the last week of August and the first of September; it is an eno- gastronomic fair dedicated to the most typical product of Carmagnola's agriculture. It attracts over 250,000 visitors each year. On 5 September 2010 during the 61st Pepper Fair the town of Carmagnola has been entered into the
Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
for the biggest pepper soup (''
peperonata ''Peperonata'' is an Italian vegetable stew typically composed of red bell peppers, tomatoes, and garlic. It may be used as a sauce for pasta or served as a side dish to meat and fish dishes. It may also be included as part of a ragù. A Malte ...
'') with a weight of 1,190 kg (2,623.5 pounds). *Spring Fair (''Fiera di primavera''). Held annually in March, dedicated to agricultural commerce, it features many collateral events. *Mercantico. It takes place on the second Sunday of each month (except August). It is a small, antiques items' market, hosting over 400 stalls along the old town. *Ortoflora e Natura. Held in the first weekend of April in the municipal park Cascina Vigna, the event is dedicated to gardening and horticulture. *Grandparents' National Day (''Festa Nazionale dei Nonni''). It takes place in the middle of September, inside the park Cascina Vigna. It had its first edition in September 2003. *Other events include "Carmagnola Jazz Festival", "Carmagnola Town of Art and Culture", "National Ornithological Contest", "Regional Beef Cattle Fair".


Twin towns

*
Opatija Opatija (; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Croatia, town and a municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in northwestern Croatia. The traditional seaside resort on the Kvarner Gulf is known for its Mediterranean climate and its historic bu ...
, Croatia * Río Tercero, Argentinahttp://www.aquinoticias.com.ar/index.php?id=7600 Río Tercero (Spanish)


References


External links


Official website
{{authority control Cities and towns in Piedmont Castles in Italy