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Tortona |
| Comune di Tortona | |
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 Municipal coat of arms |
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| Country |  Italy |
| Region | Piemonte |
| Province | Alessandria (AL) |
| Elevation | 122 m (400 ft) |
| Area | 99.29 km² (38.3 sq mi) |
| Population (as of 2005) | |
| - Total | 26,684 |
| - Density | 269/km² (697/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET, UTC+1 |
| Coordinates | |
| Gentilic | Tortonesi |
| Dialing code | 0131 |
| Postal code | 15057 |
| Frazioni | Torre Garofoli, Rivalta Scrivia, Vho, Mombisaggio, Castellar Ponzano, Bettole di Tortona, Torre Calderai |
| Patron | San Marziano |
| - Day | March 6 |
| Website: www.comune.tortona.al.it | |
Tortona is a comune of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines.
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Known in ancient times as Derthona, the city was probably the oldest colony under Roman rule in the westernmost section of the Valley of the Po, on the road leading from Genua (Genoa) to Placentia (Piacenza). The city was founded circa 123 BC - 118 BC at the junction of the great roads; the Via Postumia and the Via Aemilia Scauri which merged to become the Via Julia Augusta. The site made Dertona an important military station under the Romans.
A bishopric was founded at Tortona early, but its first bishops are purely legendary, like Saint Marcianus of Tortona, called the first bishop of Piedmont and a disciple of Barnabas, the companion of Paul. Until the 9th century, the city was under the rule of its bishop; in 1090 it became a free commune with the name of Terdona. In 1133 the diocese was separated from the archbishopric of Milan to the new archdiocese of Genoa (CE "Lombardy").
In 1155 Frederick Barbarossa leveled Tortona to the ground, leaving not one stone upon another.1
During the Middle Ages, Tortona was a faithful ally of the Guelphs and was destroyed several times. From 1260 to 1347 the city was dominated by a series of different Italian noble families and adventurers like Facino Cane, who in the unsettled affairs of Lombardy had assembled a string of lordships and great wealth which he bequeathed to his wife, Beatrice, and arranged with his friends that a marriage should be effected between her and Filippo Maria Visconti. According to Machiavelli (History of Florence, ch. 7) "By this union Filippo became powerful, and reacquired Milan and the whole of Lombardy. By way of being grateful for these numerous favors, as princes commonly are, he accused Beatrice of adultery and caused her to be put to death" [1]. In this way, in 1347, Tortona was decisively incorporated into the territories of the Duchy of Milan, where it remained until 1735. Then following the vicissitudes of the War of the Polish Succession, the city was occupied by the King of Sardinia, and "count of Tortona" was added to the titles of the House of Savoy.
People born in Tortona, or with notably close links to the town, include:
Other figures with links to the town:
This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.
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