Acqui Terme

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"Acqui" redirects here. For the Italian wine grape also known as Acqui, see Dolcetto. For the World War II Royal Italian Army division, see 33rd Infantry Division "Acqui". For the historic Italian Army brigade, see Motorized Brigade "Acqui". For current Italian Army division, see Division "Acqui".
Acqui Terme
Àich  (Piedmontese)
Comune
Comune di Acqui Terme
La Bollente spring.
La Bollente spring.
Coat of arms of Acqui Terme
Coat of arms
Location of Acqui Terme
Acqui Terme is located in Italy
Acqui Terme
Acqui Terme
Location of Acqui Terme in Italy
Coordinates: 44°41′N 08°28′E / 44.683°N 8.467°E / 44.683; 8.467Coordinates: 44°41′N 08°28′E / 44.683°N 8.467°E / 44.683; 8.467
CountryItaly
RegionPiedmont
ProvinceAlessandria (AL)
FrazioniLussito, Ovrano, Moirano
Government
 • MayorLorenzo Lucchini (Five Star Movement)
Area
[1]
 • Total33.42 km2 (12.90 sq mi)
Elevation
156 m (512 ft)
Population
 (30 April 2017)[2]
 • Total19,961
 • Density600/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Acquesi
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
15011
Dialing code0144
Patron saintGuido of Acqui
Saint dayJune 11
WebsiteOfficial website

Acqui Terme (Italian pronunciation: [ˈakkwi ˈtɛrme]; Piedmontese: Àich [ˈɑjk]) is a city and comune in the province of Alessandria, Piedmont, northern Italy. It is about 35 kilometres (22 mi) south-southwest of Alessandria. It is one of the principal winemaking communes of the Italian DOCG wine Brachetto d'Acqui.[3]

The hot sulphur springs have been famous since this was the Roman town of Aquae Statiellae; the ancient baths are referred to by Paulus Diaconus and the chronicler Liutprand of Cremona.[4] In 1870 Giovanni Ceruti designed a little pavilion, known as La Bollente, for the spot at the centre of the town where the waters bubble up at 75 °C (167 °F).

History[]

In the Roman period the place was connected by road with Alba Pompeia and Augusta Taurinorum (Turin). The local Celto-Ligurian tribe of the Statielli never gave up to the romans, and their main center Carystum (Acqui Terme) were attacked in 173 BC by the legions led by the consul Marcus Popilius Laenas. The Statielli did not oppose the resistance, but in contravention of the Roman law of war, the console killed thousands of them and reduced the other gauls to slavery and began to organize the sale of slaves. Some of them were transferred to the north of the Po, but some of them survived free in small villages in the surrounding, still not romanized. In 2008 an important necropolis was find in Montabone.[5] The remains show that the Statielli conserved their own customs and traditions for all the first century B.C. and probably after. Anyway, a very important roman town was built over Carystum, known for the naturan thermal waters and spa. Based In the neighbourhood of the town, near the river Bormida, are the remains of the aqueduct which supplied it.[4]

In the 6th century it became part of the Lombard kingdom of northern Italy. Acqui was ruled by its bishop from 978, becoming an independent commune in 1135. In 1278 it was annexed to the Marquisate of Montferrat, to which it belonged until the acquisition by the Duchy of Savoy.

It was connected by a railway line to Genoa in 1892.

Main sights[]

  • Acqui Cathedral: Romanesque edifice on the Latin cross plan, built in the late 10th century and consecrated in 1067 to Santa Maria Assunta by bishop Guido. The façade has a portal sculpted by Antonio Pilacorte, a late 15th-century rose window and a 17th-century portico. The Gothic-style bell tower is from 1479. The interior houses a late 15th-century triptych by the Spanish artist Bartolomé Bermejo, and a Baroque altar of Saint Guido.
  • The Palaeologi Castle, mentioned for the first time in 1056. It was rebuilt in the 15th century by Marquis William VII of Montferrat.
  • Church of the Addolorata: also called San Pietro dates to 7th-century. It was almost entirely rebuilt in the 10th-11th centuries in Romanesque style, and attached to a Benedictine abbey. It was again renovated in the 18th century, and returned to a neo-Romanesque appearance in the 1930s.
  • Church of San Francesco: rebuilt in 19th-century, stands adjacent to 15th century cloister of the former Franciscan convent.
  • Church of the Madonnalta
  • Sant'Antonio Abate
  • Church of Madonna della Nieve
  • Roman Aqueduct, also called Roman Arches Site.[6]

  • The Virgin of Montserrat, in the cathedral.

  • The cathedral. The loggia dates from the 17th century.

Twin towns—sister cities[]

Acqui Terme is twinned with:

  • Italy Genoa, Italy
  • Greece Argostoli, Greece

People[]

  • Pierdomenico Baccalario (born 1974), writer.
  • Giulietto Chiesa (born 1940), journalist and politician.
  • Luigi Raimondi (born 1912), Apostolic Delegate to the United States, cardinal, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

References[]

  1. ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Istat. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Istat. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  3. ^ Bastianich, J.; Lynch, D. (2005). Vino Italiano. Crown Publishing. pp. 132, 153, 419. ISBN 1-4000-9774-6.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Acqui". Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 154.
  5. ^ Le Ceneri Degli Statielli - La necropoli della seconda età del Ferro di Montabone, ISBN 978-88-5503-117-2
  6. ^ Roman Aqueduct

External links[]

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