| Cerrina Monferrato | |
|---|---|
| — Comune — | |
| Comune di Cerrina Monferrato | |
|
Cerrina Monferrato
|
|
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Piedmont |
| Province | Alessandria (AL) |
| Frazioni | Valle, Montalero, Piancerreto, Montaldo, Rosingo [1] |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Aldo Visca (lista civica, elected 08 June 2009) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 17.1 km2 (6.6 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 225 m (738 ft) |
| Population (1 January 2009)[2] | |
| • Total | 1,577 |
| • Density | 92.2/km2 (238.9/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| Postal code | 15020 |
| Dialing code | 0142 |
| Patron saint | Nazarius and Celsus |
| Saint day | 28 July |
Cerrina Monferrato (population c.1600) is a commune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 40 km east of Turin and about 40 km north-west of Alessandria. Its municipal borders enclose an area of 17.1 km², which ranges in altitude between 158 and 422 metres above sea level, and touch Gabiano to the north, Mombello Monferrato to the east, Castelletto Merli and Odalengo Piccolo to the south, and Odalengo Grande and Villamiroglio to the west. The two principal population centres are Valle Cerrina which had a population of 583 at the time of the 2001 census, and Cerrina itself, the historic centre and capoluogo which had a population of 353. Montalero (pop. 35) and Rosingo (pop. 261) were both communes in their own right until 1928. The other settlements include Montaldo, Piancerreto and Gaminella: although the last lies mostly within the commune of Mombello Monferrato.[3][4]
In 2005 Cerrina was the epicentre of swarms of locusts or grasshoppers (the local Calliptamus italicus) which, unprecedented in their magnitude and moving at speeds of up to 55 km/h, threatened the vineyards of Monferrato and the province of Asti. Mayor of Cerrina Pier Valentino Piva was quoted as saying that ‘there are thousands of them massed on the walls of our houses from morning to night. It seems as though here we are living through a scourge from the Bible’. [5]