Cereseto is a ''
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 ...
'' (municipality) in the
Province of Alessandria
The Province of Alessandria ( it, Provincia di Alessandria; pms, Provincia ëd Lissandria; in Piedmontese of Alessandria: ''Provinsa ëd Lissändria'') is an Italian province, with a population of some 425,000, which forms the southeastern part o ...
in the
Italian region
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
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.
Location
Cereseto is about east of
Turin
Turin ( , 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 from 1861 to 1865. Th ...
and about northwest of
Alessandria, on the trunk road linking
Asti
Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a '' comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deeme ...
to
Casale Monferrato
Casale Monferrato () is a town in the Piedmont region of Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is situated about east of Turin on the right bank of the Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montferrat hills. Beyond the river lies the ...
.
It borders the municipalities of
Moncalvo,
Ottiglio
Ottiglio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northwest of Alessandria.
Ottiglio borders the following municipalities: Casorzo, Cella Monte, Cere ...
,
Ozzano MonferPontestura, Ponzano Monferrato">Pontestura.html" ;"title="Ozzano MonferPontestura">Ozzano MonferPontestura, Ponzano Monferrato, Sala Monferrato, Serralunga di Crea, and Treville, Piedmont, Treville.
The commune covers an area of , and is above sea level.
The town is perched on a hill, and is dominated by the castle.
History
The town was probably established around 500–600 AD. It is mentioned in records of the Bishop of Asti from around 957 AD.
Names included Cirisidum, Cerisido, Cirisito, Cirisido, Cerexeti, Cireseto and finally Cereseto, probably referring to the many cherry trees in the area. The town was the property of the Graseverto family of Asti, who probably built the first castle around 900–1000 AD. The municipal statutes were first drafted in 1358. The castle was completely demolished in 1600.
In 1910 the financier
Riccardo Gualino and his wife launched construction of a new castle with almost 150 rooms in Cereseto.
The ''Castello di Cereseto'', in Neo-Gothic Piedmontese-Lombard style, was completed in 1913.
In 1931 Gualino was confined by the
fascist regime to the
Aeolian island of
Lipari
Lipari (; scn, Lìpari) is the largest of the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northern coast of Sicily, southern Italy; it is also the name of the island's main town and ''comune'', which is administratively part of the Metropol ...
on charges of fraudulent bankruptcy and suffered the confiscation of all his property.
The castle went through various changes of ownership, and at one time hosted one of the most impressive illegal drug refineries and laboratories in Europe. Later it became property of the financier Carlo Mereta's Martina company. As of December 2014 that company was bankrupt, and new owners were being sought.
Demographic evolution
As of 31 December 2004, Cereseto had a population of 471 and an area of .
[All demographics and other statistics: Italian statistical institute Istat.]
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References
Sources
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{{authority control
Cities and towns in Piedmont