Venasca

Venasca
Country	Italy
region	Piedmont
province	Cuneo  (CN)
Coordinates	44 ° 34 '  N , 7 ° 24'  E Coordinates: 44 ° 34 '0 "  N , 7 ° 24' 0"  E
height	550  m slm
surface	20.30 km²
Residents	1,384 (Dec 31, 2019)
Population density	68 inhabitants / km²
Post Code	12020
prefix	0175
ISTAT number	004237
Popular name	Venaschesi
Patron saint	Santa Lucia

Venasca is a municipality with 1384 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019) in the Italian province of Cuneo (CN), Piedmont region . The municipality, which is located in the lower Varaita valley , covers an area of ​​20 km².

A path leads over the Colle di Brondello into the Valle di Bronda . The Varaita crosses a 53 m long bridge in Venasca.

The neighboring municipalities are Brondello , Brossasco , Isasca , Pagno , Piasco , Rossana and Valmala .

history

The Celtic population of the valleys in the area of ​​the province of Cuneo , the Bagienni , whose capital was Julia Augusta Bagiennorum (about 2 km from Bene Vagienna ) and who settled between Tanaro and Po, was conquered by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. And under Augustus 15 BC. Equipped with a colony. In the course of archaeological excavations, square towers, the forum, a temple, a basilica , thermal baths , remains of an aqueduct and numerous houses were unearthed.

In the 10th century the Saracens penetrated into the surrounding area. They had established themselves in Fraxinetum near Nice . Overlords of the valley were the bishops of Turin , but the goods there and the associated places were given to the Conti di Verzuolo , one of which was called "di Venasca". In March 1156, Bishop Charles of Turin awarded "terciam partem opidi Venasce cum tercia parte ville" to Albert von Venasca. In 1172 the counts submitted to the Marquis of Saluzzo . In 1352 the Lords of Venasca allied themselves with Manfredo di Cardé, the uncle but still opponent of the Margrave Tommaso di Saluzzo. Thereupon they were excommunicated by the Bishop of Turin and their fiefs were given to the third-born son Galeazzo, along with those of Brossasco and Casteldelfino. After Galeazzo's three sons died childless, the fiefdom reverted to the Marquis of Saluzzo. After the occupation of the margraviate by Charles Emanuel I in 1601, Count Gaspare Porporati received the fief.

Around 1400 there was an important weekly market for the Varaita valley, a blacksmith from Venasca appeared in Saluzzo in 1416. Around 1550 Venasca was the most important place for metal processing in the Varaita valley , which was mined in the valley and processed in the local forges.

Baroque parish church Maria Assunta

Around 1600 the valley came to Savoy , which Venasca again awarded to the Paillard in 1601 and to the Porporato in 1622. In the 18th century the cloth industry settled, exporting to Mondovì and Genoa , and silk producers . But white marble was also quarried there, and wood, especially chestnuts, was processed into charcoal . Venasca was also an important market place where the Monday market was held, for example for the grain producers. While no wine from the plain was offered in the higher Sampeyre , Venasca offered a certain turnover, on which duties were levied as well (from the 1830s) as on flour. These trading activities created a significant need for carts, mostly horse-drawn, but also offered seasonal livelihoods for harvest workers. There were also three fiere a year, annual fairs that took place on April 29, July 25 and October 20.

The Cottian Alps and their valleys played a significant role for the deployment of armies in the conflicts between France and Savoy. In 1744 the French and Spaniards, who allegedly had advanced into the Varaita valley with 25,000 men, marched against the Savoyards, who defeated the Italians at Venasca, whereupon the latter had to retreat to Casteldelfino , the headquarters of King Charles Emanuel III. of Savoy . Karl Emanuel soon had to give up the valley and defend himself in Cuneo and later in Saluzzo , while the French also managed to conquer the Maira valley , from where the Savoyards withdrew from Dronero and Busca . But now Austrian troops under Count Giovanni Luca Pallavicini (Johann Lucas), who had previously defended the Stura Valley in vain , joined the defenders of Cuneo; a few thousand Savoyards and Genoese also managed to get into the city. Cuneo withstood all attempts at conquest and finally the Spanish and French had to withdraw. In 1755 the church of MV Assunta was completed.

In 1799 there was also a battle between the French and the Imperial at Venasca. Under Napoleon Venasca became the capital of a canton and the seat of a justice of the peace . At the same time, a police brigade was stationed in Venasca and a post office was set up. But at the end of the 19th century, the cloth industry stopped producing. At the end of the 1840s, around 120 workers were under contract in the silk and iron industry and in the rope winch mills. In 1826 the Mandamento Venasca had 7,221 inhabitants, the capital itself 2,333 inhabitants. Shortly before, Johann Huebner's real state, newspaper and conversation lexicon reported 2,350 inhabitants.

Venasca train station, after 1900

Costigliole Saluzzo -Venasca route timetable, 1901

school

In 1853 the Dizionario geografico-storico-statistico-commerciale degli stati del Redi Sardegna , which is held annually for the feast of St. Lucia more than 2000 visitors came to Venasca. From 1841 the 28 km long road along the Varaita was built, which was to connect Verzuolo and Sampeyre . It led through Villanovetta , Piasco , Venasca, Brossasco , Melle and Frassino . The three-arch bridge at Venasca, which was built between 1828 and 1830 and spanned the Varaita, had already been restored in 1848, which had been badly damaged in the floods of 1839. Two thirds of the burdens were borne by the municipality and one third by the province. In 1901 Venasca had 3,405 inhabitants.

After Mussolini's fall and his reinstatement by the National Socialists, partisans occupied the valleys and fortified them against the expected German attacks. On January 16, 1944, German units occupied Vernasca for the first time, and some of the refugees were shot; on July 25, the village was shot at from the air. On August 11, 1944, militias of the National Socialist regime burned down most of the houses in the village. In contrast to Ceretto di Costigliole Saluzzo , where 27 civilians were murdered on January 5th 1944 on the square of the frazione, these acts of revenge, which were carried out because of the partisan activities in the valley, were limited to the buildings.

Web links

Commons : Venasca  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Venasca Municipality website
• Information at comuni-italiani.it (Italian)

Remarks

1. ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.
2. ^ Goffredo Casalis: Dizionario Geografico-Storico-Statistico-Commerciale degli Stati di SM Il Re di Sardegna , Vol. 17, Turin 1848, p. 109.
3. ↑ A brief outline of the story can be found on the website of the municipality ( Cenni storici ).
4. ^ Alfred Haverkamp : Forms of Rule of the Early Staufers in Imperial Italy , Part II, Hiersemann, 1971, p. 386.
5. ↑ Goffredo Casalis: Dizionario geografico-storico-statistico-commerciale degli stati del Redi Sardegna , Maspers, 1853, p. 857 f.
6. ^ Giorgio Di Gangi: L'attività mineraria e metallurgica nelle Alpi Occidentali Italiane nel Medioevo: Piemonte e Valle d'Aosta , David Brown, 2001, p. 27.
7. ^ Goffredo Casalis: Dizionario Geografico-Storico-Statistico-Commerciale degli Stati di SM Il Re di Sardegna , Vol. 17, Turin 1848, p. 168.
8. ^ Goffredo Casalis: Dizionario Geografico-Storico-Statistico-Commerciale degli Stati di SM Il Re di Sardegna , Vol. 17, Turin 1848, p. 669.
9. ^ Goffredo Casalis: Dizionario geografico-storico-statistico-commerciale degli stati del Redi Sardegna , Maspers, 1853, p. 857.
10. ↑ Giovanni Eandi: Statistica della provincia di Saluzzo. Appendice alla statistica della provincia di Saluzzo , 1836, Tab. 1, p. 15.
11. ↑ Giovanni Eandi: Statistica della provincia di Saluzzo. Appendice alla statistica della provincia di Saluzzo , 1836, Tab. 2, p. 15.
12. ^ Johann Huebner's real State, Newspaper and Conversations Lexicon , revised version by FX Sperl, Grätz o. J., Sp. 1471.
13. ^ Goffredo Casalis: Dizionario geografico-storico-statistico-commerciale degli stati del Redi Sardegna , Maspers, 1853, p. 856.
14. ^ Goffredo Casalis: Dizionario Geografico-Storico-Statistico-Commerciale degli Stati di SM Il Re di Sardegna , Vol. 17, Turin 1848, p. 121.
15. ↑ P. Battaini, Giovanni Battista Magrini, Giovanni Vaccari, Pietro Gribaudi: La Nuova Italia , 1902, p 565th
16. ^ Mario Giovana, Giorgio Bocca, Giampaolo Pansa: La resistenza nel Saluzzese , Saluzzo 1964, p. 107.