Valenza ( or ''Valensá'') 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

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 ...

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 about east 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 ...

and about north 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, ...

, in the extreme

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 ...

’s offshoots, in the

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

’s border. It is sometimes called “Valenza Po”. It is also one of the principal zones in the Alessandria’s province, due to its

schools A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of ...

poles and the hospital.

History

A stronghold of the

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 ...

, it was conquered by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

in the 2nd century BC, and became a

forum Forum or The Forum may refer to: Common uses *Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example * Internet forum, discussion board ...

as Forum Fulvii Valentinum, having law jurisdiction and a market. After the fall of the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

, most of the population moved from the hills of the previous settlement to live where the current town is. It was ravaged by the

Burgundians The Burgundians were an early Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe or group of tribes. They appeared east in the middle Rhine region in the third century AD, and were later moved west into the Roman Empire, in Roman Gaul, Gaul. In the first and seco ...

and ruled by 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 ...

. After the Frank conquest of northern Italy, it became part of the mark of Montferrat. Overshadowed by the power of the nearby

, it attracted the attentions of

Galeazzo I Visconti Galeazzo I Visconti (21 January 1277 – 6 August 1328) was lord of Milan from 1322 to 1327. After being chosen Captain of Milan, he defeated two papal armies and was excommunicated by Pope John XXII. Temporarily imprisoned for murder, Galeazzo re ...

, duke of Milan, but his plot to capture the city failed. The Viscount were however able to conquer Valenza in 1370. Later the town was sacked by the French troops (1499 and 1515), reconquered by the Spaniards (1521) under

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

(1521) and then again captured by the French (1523). However, in the latter year it was given back to Charles V. Again surrendered to the French in 1557, it finally was assigned to Spain in 1559 by the

Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis The Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in April 1559 ended the Italian Wars (1494–1559). It consisted of two separate treaties, one between England and France on 2 April, and another between France and Spain on 3 April. Although he was not a signatory ...

. In 1635, during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, Valenza resisted for 60 days a siege from French, Parmense and Savoyard troops. During the later part of the

Franco-Spanish War (1635–59) Franco-Spanish War may refer to any war between France and Spain, including: References {{disambig France–Spain military relations ...

, it again withstood a French siege in 1641, but in 1656, after 70 days of siege, it capitulated to French, Savoyard and Modenese troops. Valenza was besieged again in 1696, but this time the French and Savoyards were unable to capture it. In 1707, in the course of the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish ...

, it was conquered by

Victor Amadeus II of Savoy Victor Amadeus II (; 14 May 166631 October 1732) was the head of the House of Savoy and ruler of the Savoyard states from 12 June 1675 until his abdication in 1730. He was the first of his house to acquire a royal crown, ruling first as King of ...

, who had its possession confirmed in 1713 by the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...

. Thenceforth Valenza followed Piedmontese-Sardinian history, and after 1861 that of the kingdom of Italy. The city of Valenza in collaboration with the Brotherhood of San Bernardino reward every year since 1988 the best jeweler with the statuette of San Eligio. This statuette aims to reward the artisans who help the city of Valenza building the reputation of Italian Capital Jewelry.

Twin towns

Rocca Imperiale Rocca Imperiale is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Rocca Imperiale is located in the middle of the arc that surrounds the Gulf of Taranto and sits 4 km away from the sea on a hill at ...

, Italy

References

{{authority control