The Commune of Conzano (Italian: ''

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 ...

di Conzano''; Piemontese: ''Consan'') is a municipality located in the south of

Casale Monferrato Casale Monferrato () is a town in the Piedmont region of Northwest Italy, northwestern Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is situated about east of Turin on the right bank of the Po River, Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montfe ...

, in the north-west of 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 ...

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 ...

.
The town became famous for having been declared, in 1992, as the symbol of the massive emigration of the people to the northern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, about 1890-1935 period: the ancient town square, named ''Piazza d'Armi'' (= Weapons Square), was renamed in ''Piazza

'' and Conzano has been twinned with

Ingham, Queensland Ingham is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Hinchinbrook, Queensland, Australia. It is named after William Bairstow Ingham and is the administrative centre for the Shire of Hinchinbrook. In the , th ...

Geography

The town is situated on the

Montferrat Montferrat ( , ; ; , ; ) is a historical region of Piedmont, in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Province of Alessandria, Alessandria and Province of Asti, Asti. Montferrat ...

hills, among the Grana and Rotaldo creeks, at an altitude of 262 meters above the sea level, and includes two decentralized hamlets (the latter's formal status as a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') 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 consolidat ...

'') in the northern flat side (near

), recognised in the ''Statuto Comunale'' ): the first one is ''Castello'', the second one is ''San Maurizio''. To the north-east side, the country borders with Occimiano, to the south-east with Lu e Cuccaro Monferrato, and to the west with Camagna Monferrato. The municipal territory extends over a predominantly rural area of .

Ancient history

In ancient times, the site was inhabited by prehistoric settlements, followed by a Roman colonization of consul Marco Fulvio Flacco (2nd century), contemporary of

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

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 ...

n tribes named ''Iadatine'', from the Latin ''Iactum'', the ancient name of the Grana creek.
Since 3rd century A.D. they are documented rules of patrician praedials named ''Medialianus'', but also ''Condius'', ''Contius'', accordingly the origin of toponym ''Contiacus'', ''Conziacanus'', ''Conzianus''. A true urban village begins about the 5th century, at the bottom of the hill. Exposed to repeated incursions throughout 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 ...

, especially the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

and

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

, old village was totally destroyed, and the new village was built in the 10th century on the top of the hill, with a topographical structure in concentric circles, on ancient places named ''Pozzo Piazza'' and ''bric'' (= peak) ''Saint Lucia'' (= Saint Lucy of Syracuse).
The Emperor

Otto I of Saxony Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

gave the village in manor to the Lords of Cuccaro; in the same period, Marquis Oberto gift to the Cluniac congregation property for the construction of a little Benedictine

Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

, and the decentralized San Maurizio hamlet began to be populated. Conzano-torre e chiesa3

Since 12th century, Conzano was dominated by the March of Montferrat, in quarrel with the Ghilini dynasty, Lords 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, ...

. Accordingly, the town was fortified, with the construction of a tower on the eastern side, called today the "Clock Tower" or "Civic Tower". About 15th century, in front of it, is built the pretty little church of San Biagio. Slightly late, is the small church of the decentralized hamlet of San Maurizio, in late Gothic style (about half of the 15th century), where it seems to be here the remains of queen Sophia, daughter of

Theodore II, Marquess of Montferrat Theodore II Palaeologus (Teodoro II Paleologo) (died 16 April 1418) was the Margrave of Montferrat from 1381. Life He was the thirdborn son of John II of Montferrat and Isabel of Majorca. Theodore was named governor of the margraviate after t ...

and 2nd wife of emperor John VIII Palaiologos. On the same road, it was built a small castle (nonexistent today, replaced by a recent private villa), who gave built to the current namesake hamlet. In the 16th century, the country came under the territory of the dukes Gonzaga, until the 18th century, when they were deposed.

Early modern period

Since 1709, Conzano was annexed to the

Duchy of Savoy The Duchy of Savoy (; ) was a territorial entity of the Savoyard state that existed from 1416 until 1847 and was a possession of the House of Savoy. It was created when Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, raised the County of Savoy into a duchy f ...

, under direct control of the

district before, the Marengo department during the Napoleonic occupation. The ruins of ancient medieval structure of the village castle was remodeled in the Franciscan convent building, now at the end of the 18th century, rebuilt to house destined to a rich Count named Carlo Viduabr>
The villa, which is open to the public, is particularly known for its interior decorations in the Chinoiserie, Chinese manner.
The population increased, at least until the call of the

second italian war of independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Sardinian War, the Austro-Sardinian War, the Franco-Austrian War, or the Italian War of 1859 (Italian: ''Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana''; German: ''Sardinischer Krieg''; French: ...

(1859) and, after, the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In addition, the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

economic downfall in the late 9th century impoverished small rural towns. People spared the last money to travel to distant lands, for example to

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, but especially to

. Many farmers moved from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, to the Northern

, where there was a strong job demand about cutting sugar canes, a work very similar to a farming job. The poorest towns of the area were Lu, Occimiano, Cuccaro and, above all, Conzano, why there was a massive emigration, especially from this place. Conzano-piazza Australia

In 1992, there was a discovery of this interesting historical events, the town has been twinned with

, the opening of a thematic exhibition and a quote in memory of the official spokesman of conzanese people emigrated to Australia, Ettore Cantamessa (1892-1947).

Twin town

* Ingham, a town with some 4,700 inhabitants in the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

, has been twinned with Conzano since 1992-1993.

Population trends

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:455 height:303 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:3000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:1000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:200 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1861 text:1861 bar:1871 text:1871 bar:1881 text:1881 bar:1901 text:1901 bar:1911 text:1911 bar:1921 text:1921 bar:1931 text:1931 bar:1936 text:1936 bar:1951 text:1951 bar:1961 text:1961 bar:1971 text:1971 bar:1981 text:1981 bar:1991 text:1991 bar:2001 text:2001 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:left bar:1861 from: 0 till:1394 bar:1871 from: 0 till:1670 bar:1881 from: 0 till:1838 bar:1901 from: 0 till:2134 bar:1911 from: 0 till:2224 bar:1921 from: 0 till:1738 bar:1931 from: 0 till:1458 bar:1936 from: 0 till:1460 bar:1951 from: 0 till:1232 bar:1961 from: 0 till:1029 bar:1971 from: 0 till:829 bar:1981 from: 0 till:793 bar:1991 from: 0 till:868 bar:2001 from: 0 till:1005 PlotData= bar:1861 at:1394 fontsize:XS text: 1394 shift:(-8,5) bar:1871 at:1670 fontsize:XS text: 1670 shift:(-8,5) bar:1881 at:1838 fontsize:XS text: 1838 shift:(-8,5) bar:1901 at:2134 fontsize:XS text: 2134 shift:(-8,5) bar:1911 at:2224 fontsize:XS text: 2224 shift:(-8,5) bar:1921 at:1738 fontsize:XS text: 1738 shift:(-8,5) bar:1931 at:1458 fontsize:XS text: 1458 shift:(-8,5) bar:1936 at:1460 fontsize:XS text: 1460 shift:(-8,5) bar:1951 at:1232 fontsize:XS text: 1232 shift:(-8,5) bar:1961 at:1029 fontsize:XS text: 1029 shift:(-8,5) bar:1971 at:829 fontsize:XS text: 829 shift:(-8,5) bar:1981 at:793 fontsize:XS text: 793 shift:(-8,5) bar:1991 at:868 fontsize:XS text: 868 shift:(-8,5) bar:2001 at:1005 fontsize:XS text: 1005 shift:(-8,5) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Data from ISTAT

References

External links

www.comune.conzano.al.it/
{{authority control Cities and towns in Piedmont