Acqui Terme
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Comune di Acqui Terme | |
|---|---|
 Municipal coat of arms |
|
| Country |  Italy |
| Region | Piedmont |
| Province | Province of Alessandria (AL) |
| Mayor | Danilo Rapetti (elected May 25, 2005) |
| Elevation | 156 m (512 ft) |
| Area | 33.42 km² (13 sq mi) |
| Population (as of 2005) | |
| - Total | 20,230 |
| - Density | 605/km² (1,567/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET, UTC+1 |
| Coordinates | |
| Gentilic | Acquesi |
| Dialing code | 0144 |
| Postal code | 15011 |
| Frazioni | Lussito, Ovrano, Moirano |
| Patron | San Guido |
| - Day | June 11 |
| Website: www.comuneacqui.com | |
Acqui Terme (Äich in Piedmontese) is a city and comune of Piedmont, northern Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is c. 35 km SSW of Alessandria.
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. 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.
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[edit] History
In the Roman period the place was connected by road with Alba Pompeia and Augusta Taurinorum (Turin). The local Ligurian tribe of the Statielli had joined the Romans at an early period, but were attacked in 173 BCE and some were transferred to the north of the Po. In the neighbourhood of the town, near the river Bormida, are the remains of the aqueduct which supplied it.
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.
[edit] Main sights
- The town’s Gothic cathedral, entitled to Santa Maria Assunta, was built in the late 10th century and consecrated in 1067 by bishop Guido. It is a Romanesque edifice on the Latin cross plan, with a nave and four (originally two) aisles. The façade has a main portal sculpted by Antonio Pilacorte, a late 15th century rose window and a 17th century portico. The Gothic bell tower is from 1479. The interior houses a late 15th-century triptych by the Spanish artist Bartolomé Bermejo a Baroque altar of St. 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 San Pietro or Addolorata, of Palaeo-Christian origins. It was almost entirely rebuilt in the 10th-11th centuries in Romanesque style, when it become a Benedictine abbey. It was again largely renovated in the 18th century, being returned to a neo-Romanesque appearance in the 1930s.
- Church of St. Francis. It includes two 15th century cloister of the former Franciscan convent.
[edit] Notable people from Acqui Terme
- Giulietto Chiesa (born 1940), journalist and politician.
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Catholic Encyclopedia: Diocese of Acqui
- Acquese Web Portal of tourism, tipical products, health and wellness in Italian
