Ceva, the ancient Ceba, is a small

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 ...

town in the

province of Cuneo The province of Cuneo (; ) is a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west, it borders the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ( departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Hautes-Alpes), to the north the ...

, region of

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 ...

, east of

Cuneo Cuneo (; ; ; ) is a city and in Piedmont, 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 the south-west of Piedmont, at the confluence of the ri ...

. It lies on the right bank of the

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 ...

on a wedge of land between that river and the Cevetta stream.

History

In the pre-Roman period the territory around Ceva was inhabited by the branch of the mountain

Ligures The Ligures or Ligurians were an ancient people after whom Liguria, a region of present-day Northern Italy, north-western Italy, is named. Because of the strong Celts, Celtic influences on their language and culture, they were also known in anti ...

known as Epanterii. View of Ceva 1835

The upper Val Tanaro was

Romanized In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...

in the second century BC and it is known that the area was organized around a ''

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (: ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ('duty holders'), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privileges ...

''. However, it is not certain that this was Ceba: Mombasiglio is also regarded as a candidate. In the first century AD

Columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (, Arabic: ) was a prominent Roman writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture and ancient Roman cuisin ...

referred to a particular breed of cattle raised here, and

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

praised its sheep's milk cheese in his ''

Natural History 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 ...

''. The town is on the site of the old Roman road from

Augusta Taurinorum 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 ...

via

Pollentia 250px, Church of San Vittore at Pollenzo. Pollentia, known today as Pollenzo (), was an ancient city on the left bank of the Tanaro. It is now a ''frazione'' (parish) of Bra in the Province of Cuneo, Piedmont, northern Italy. In antiquity Poll ...

to the coast and it is probable that there was a market here from which the cheese produced in the region was exported to Rome via the Ligurian ports of Vada Sabatia (the modern

Vado Ligure Vado Ligure (), in antiquity Vada Sabatia, is a port town and ''comune'' in the province of Savona, Liguria, in northern Italy. The town despite its size has become one of the largest ports in Northwest Italy. Economy Vado has a large indus ...

) and/or Albingaunum (Albenga). In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

it was the seat of a small marquisate, which lasted until the late 15th century when it was acquired by

Savoy Savoy (; )  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 and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

. Ceva was home to a fortress defending the confines of Piedmont towards

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 ...

, but the fortifications on the rock above the town were demolished in 1800 by the French, to whom it had been ceded in 1796. Ceva was heavily damaged by a flood of the

, Cevetta and Bovina rivers.

Main sights

The 16th-century castle of the Pallavicino stands in an area of green parkland between the Tanaro and the Cevetta and comprises two small palaces: the original, red ''palazzina rossa'' and the later, white ''palazzina bianca''. Remains of the 16th-century fort are also present. The

Duomo of Ceva ''Duomo'' (, ) is an Italian term for a church with the features of, or having been built to serve as a cathedral, whether or not it currently plays this role. The Duomo of Monza, for example, has never been a diocesan seat and is by definition ...

, also known as the Collegiata dell'Assunzione della Beata Vergine Maria, was completed in 1605.

Twin towns — sister cities

Ceva is twinned with: * Le Val, France (1992)

Notes

External links

* * Pliny on the cheese of Ceba in Book 11 of the ''Natural History'': *
at Perseus
*

(Search for ‘Cebanum’) Comunità Montana Valli Mongia, Cevetta e Langa Cebana {{Cuneo-geo-stub

History

Main sights

Twin towns — sister cities

See also

Notes

External links