Canavese

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Canavese is a subalpine geographical and historical area of north-west Italy which lies today within the Province of Turin in Piedmont. Its main town is Ivrea and it is famous for its castles.

[edit] Location

To the north it borders on the Aosta Valley and to the east on the provinces of Biella and Vercelli. To the south and west the borders have varied over time but might be taken as being the rivers Stura di Lanzo and Po. The valley of the river Orco and the area around Corio fall within the Canavese. Turin, however, is entirely excluded.

The main centres, in addition to Ivrea, are Caluso, Chivasso, Cirié, Cuorgnè and Rivarolo Canavese.

[edit] History

The first inhabitants of Canavese were the Salassi, a tribe of Celto-Ligurian roots; the Romans arrived in 22 BCE.

When the Roman Empire fell, Canavese fell under the domination of Byzantium. It was then conquered by Lombards and later by Franks.

After the death of Arduino, marquis of Ivrea and the first to bear the title of king of Italy (1015), the Counts of Canavese (who all claimed to be his descendents) shared out the region. This was the beginning of the big families of Canavese: San Martino, Valperga, Castellamonte, and later the Biandrate family from Novara.

The Savoy family started its political expansion in Canavese in the 1300s, and the Commune of Ivrea as well as the Canavese Counts became their subjects.

In the 16th century, Canavese came under French domination, then Spanish domination, then back to French domination. Napoleon's defeat meant that Canavese reverted to the House of Savoy.