History of Casale Monferrato

The primitive nucleus of Casale Monferrato probably developed near the Po River, around the castle of the Paleologi, then to the Basilica of Saint Evasio. Casale Monferrato  was the  capital city for two hundred years of the Marquisate of Monferrato, a small but fierce State that retained its independence for 800 years and it ceased to exist only in 1708, when it was subjected to the domain of Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy (1666-1732). In this very long time, the Marquisate was first ruled by the Aleramici, then by Paleologi and, finally,  by  Gonzaga.

The origins of Casale, as we explain below, most likely coincide with the Roman city of Vardacate, as demonstrated various archaeological finds in the area. It was also of the Longobards domain, and in 882, Charles the Fat (839-888) gave the city the Bishopric of Vercelli. The city rebelled in 1196 and became a free municipality;  in 1215 it was razed to the ground by allied armies of Vercelli, Alessandria and Tommaso of Savoy (1178-1233).

It then was rebuilt under Frederick II (1194-1250), moving in 1303 to the Aleramici. In 1474 it obtained the title of city, and in 1559, with the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis, it came under the dominion of the Gonzaga of Mantua, who fortified the town more.

It suffered, throughout the seventeenth century, several sieges by the Spanish and French, until the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, losing its role of capital with the transit to the Savoy. At the end of the nineteenth century, the city became an industrial centre of considerable importance. At the hub of a vast agricultural, now Casale has developed significant industrial activities like the production of cement, a material extracted from the surrounding hills. Thereafter, significantly reduced the textile sector that characterized another production sector, the city has developed the mechanical engineering industry, the production of printing presses and industrial refrigerators, and, of course, tourism.

Etymology - a long story that traverses the centuries!

Casale Monferrato is an ancient city which, with Roman domination, was called "Vardacate," and this name was mentioned by Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD). The transition to the modern name was something pretty slow, but, following the events of the ancient church of “St. Evasio”, the patron saint of the city, we can reconstruct the change of name through the centuries. In fact, Aldo A. Settia, who studied the transformations of the city name around the '70s, wrote that the Church of St. Evasio is cited as "[...] located ‘in loco Casalis' ("in a place called ‘Casalis’), in documents dating back to 928 and 1020; and then the Church itself is quoted 'infra Castro qui dicitur Casalo ' ('inside a fortified place called' Casalo'') in a document dated 1100, and, finally, ‘in Burgo Casalis’ (' in the Village of ‘Casale’ '), regularly from 1173 onwards (...) From the thirteenth century the expression ‘Burgus Casalis’ indicates therefore the whole town, probably fortified by a moat outside [...] (See Aldo A . Settia, “Monferrato: strutture di un territorio medievale” ["Monferrato: structures of a medieval territory”], Celid, 1983: 110, 205. The previous edition was published in the late '70s, “Sviluppo e struttura di un borgo medievale: Casale Monferrato”["The Development and Structure of a Medieval Village:  Casale Monferrato”], 1978: 37-39).

Indeed in the Middle Ages, from the eleventh century, the term "Burgus" meant a sizeable inhabited place, "second only to 'civitates' ('cities') of ancient Roman tradition." The term "Burgus" has been explained very well by Aldo Settia, who writes: "The term 'burgus', which, with the clear meaning of 'little castle', makes its appearance in Latin Imperial age, then undergoes a clear semantic splitting; while in Germanic area it retains its original meaning of ‘fortification’, it took, first in France and then throughout the Romance territory, the exclusive meaning of ‘unprotected conurbation’." (See Aldo A. Settia, “Lo sviluppo degli abitati rurali in Alta Italia” ["The Development of Rural Villages in Upper Italy"], in G. Rossetti Pepe, “Sulle tracce della civiltà contadina”["On the Trails of Peasant Civilization”], Bologna, Il Mulino, 1980: 177, 173).

As regards the term "Casalis”, as  G.. Romani says, " ‘Casale’, etymologically, means an aggregate of farmhouses, since 'casa', in Latin, means 'hovel', 'hut' or 'dwelling of peasants'" (See G. Roman, “Storia di Casalmaggiore” ["History of Casalmaggiore"], 1828: 12 and note). As regards the second part of the name, "Monferrato", the question is difficult to solve. Over the centuries, scholars have proposed many different solutions; there were those who suggested the etymology from " Mons Ferratus” (Mount of 'iron' or ‘Fortified Mount’); others derived the name from the Latin “ferax” and therefore we would have a "Mons Ferax" or "fertile land, rich in fruits." The solution of the enigma is perhaps in the reasoning of some scholars, who noted that the name "Monferrato", combined with "Casale", is not so much related to a soil characteristic of the ancient "Burgus Casalis", as the military expansionism of the Marquisate of Monferrato, which evolved to include and encompass the "Burgus casalis”, which, when it was conquered by the Marquis of Monferrato, took too that name," Casale 'Monferrato'. "

As explained Dino Gribaudi "[...] this name has found its fortune in the rise of a political power [the Marquisate of Monferrato] endowed with an excellent expansive force, so, abandoning the hills of Turin (who escaped forever), it  migrated eastward, reaching the hills of ‘Casale’, which came under the dominion of the Marquis of Monferrato [...]". In this sense we must give to the name "Monferrato" “ […] a larger spatial meaning more extensive than strictly historical, coinciding with the hills around Turin, to expand it “  across the wide Central Piedmont Hill between the Po River and the Ligurian Apennines"(See Dino Gribaudi, “Piemonte e Valle d'Aosta” [“Piedmont and Valle d'Aosta”], 1960:174). In conclusion, we could say that the meaning of "Casale Monferrato" is "'Burgus-Casalis' belonging to the Marquisate of Monferrato”, which is probably the most correct and plausible etymology.

We conclude the discourse about the etymology with a notation  about  the ancient Latin name "Vardacate", mentioned, along with other cities, by Pliny the Elder in the “Naturalis Historia” (Bibliobazaar, 2009: 18-19): " Ab altero eius latere ad Padum amnem Italiae ditissimum omnia nobilibus oppidis nitent, Libarna, Dertona colonia, Iria, Vardacate " [“ From another part of it, near the Po River  rich in waters, the whole area stands out  for its noble cities, as Libarna the colony of Dertona, Iria and Vardacate”]. According to studies carried out by the “Centre for Studies of Piedmont” ( See S.G. Giorelli, “Il caso di Vardacate” ["The case of Vardacate"], 1994: 100), the etymology of the name "[...] 'Vardacate' is uncertain, but it is possible that it is connected to the particular geographical situation of the city, situated on the banks of a river;  'Vardacate' would therefore be attributed to the Indo-European root 'uar-', indicating the 'water' and comparable with the ancient Celtic term “Vardo”, which is the name of the present-day Gard River, a  tributary of right of the Rhone [...]". Therefore "Vardacate" would mean a "city situated on the river."

We use the conditional tense, because, in fact, the etymology has been questioned by A. Settia, who pointed out that the course of the Po River had undergone many changes over the millennia, so it is actually very difficult to establish whether "Vardacate" was located really close to the Po. Anyway, the question of etymology of "Vardacate" is far from closed, because the city was known by another name, "Sedula" and "Sedulia", mentioned in some medieval sources, however considered by scholars "unsafe and uncertain" (See A. Settia, “Chiese, strade e Fortezze nell'Italia Medievale” ["Churches, Roads and Fortresses in Medieval Italy], Herde, 1991: 203). Indeed to some scholars, the term "Sedulia" (from the Latin "sedulus", “industrious”) has appeared, more than a name, a simple adjective ("Sedulius" from "sedulus," " laborious," "diligent"), so with "Sedula" or "Sedulia”, they probably wanted to indicate a village “active and industrious. " The only thing we can say, and it is widely accepted by scholars, is that "Burgus-Casalis”, as demonstrated by the discovery of a Roman necropolis in its environs, was located where once there was the Roman city of “Vardacate”, which was “municipium”  and   belonged to the tribe "Pollia".