Sassello ( lij, Sascello; locally ) 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 Savona The province of Savona ( it, provincia di Savona; Ligurian: ''provinsa de Sann-a'') is a province in the Liguria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Savona, which has a population of 61,219 inhabitants. The province has a total population ...

in the Italian region

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) 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 ...

, located about west of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...

and about north of

Savona Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea. Savona used to be one of the chief seats ...

in the northern side of the Ligurian Apennines. It is the birthplace of Blessed Chiara Badano. Part of Sassello's territory lies within the boundaries of the Parco naturale regionale del Beigua.

History

Little is known of pre-historic and even medieval events before 1000 AD, although the area has certainly been visited - if not inhabited - by stone age humans, as evidenced by tools and weapons found locally.

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

reports the presence of the Statielli, a Ligurian tribe, not far from Sassello in present-day Acqui Terme. Sassello is first mentioned in 967 AD in an Imperial bull which attached it to the Marquesate of

Aleram Aleram ( it, Aleramo; died 991) was the first Marquis of Montferrat and Liguria (the '' marca Aleramica'') in Northern Italy until his death. He was son of William I of Montferrat and is mentioned in documents for the first time in 933 when he rec ...

. Later on, it belonged to Bonifacio del Vasto, the Del Carretto, Ponzone and Genoese Doria families. Due to its strategical position, it was long contended between the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the L ...

and the Marquisate of Montferrat. Genoa acquired it from the Doria family in 1612, whereas in 1672 and 1747 it was occupied - and burnt down - by the

Duchy of Savoy The Duchy of Savoy ( it, Ducato di Savoia; french: Duché de Savoie) was a country in Western Europe that existed from 1416. It was created when Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, raised the County of Savoy into a duchy for Amadeus VIII. The du ...

. It reintegrated the Republic of Genoa until its annexation to the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

in 1815. After that date, Sassello followed the destiny of

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

to become part of the new Italian kingdom in 1861. From 1570 to 1670 it was the seat of large ironworks which only the widespread use of coal made obsolete.

Culture

The ironworks period represented a golden age for Sassello, whose population rose perhaps to 5,000 people. The urban character of the settlement allowed for the development of a learned élite and a small vernacular literature. A song, still popular today, was composed during the 1747 war as a reaction to the Austro-Piedmontese occupation, carried out by a horde of Croatian mercenaries. It goes: Also in vernacular, Abbot Gio Lorenzo Federico Gavotti composed ''Ei quattei stagiugni sascline'' ("The four seasons of Sassello").Alessandra Badano, "''Il poema Sassello di GLF Gavotti, B. Zunini e G. Gavotti''", Graduation Thesis, University of Genova, 1992 "''Sassello''" is another much longer poem that Gavotti composed together with his friend B. Zunini. It revolves around the local costumes during the first decades of the 1800s. It was written in standard Italian with only a few verses in vernacular. Jacopo Perrando (1853-1917), author of a fairy tale "''Scisciacco''" is also worth mentioning.

Economy

After the collapse of the ironworks and the annexation to the

, an impoverished population drew its subsistence from agriculture and

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

. Strong ties with Genoa meant the penetration of a dense trading network. With the rise of the Genoese bourgeoisie, Sassello became a tourist destination, as rich summer dwellings were built. Today, tourism and confectionery industry are its main economic resources. The recent inclusion of part of its territory within the Regional Park of Mount Beigua opens new perspectives in this sense.

Twin towns

Sassello is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Les Alqueries, Spain, since 2002

References

External links