Carmagnola, Metropolitan city of Turin, Piedmont, Italy

Carmagnola is an Italian town in the metropolitan city of Turin, in Piedmont, located about 30 kilometers south of the capital. The town is on the right side of the Po river. The nature of the soil determined over time how the river’s sand accumulated. The economy of the town is currently linked to the industry and intensive production of vegetables and cereals, which the particular soil makes very productive. Industry experienced a notable growth during the 1960s, when FIAT opened an important factory, thus attracting a growing number of immigrants from southern Italy. The rapid growth of FIAT made also possible other activities in the metallurgy, electronics, optics, chemical industry, and food industry fields. Also well-developed are the banking, financial and insurance sectors.

Carmagnola is located on the right of the Po, in a flat stretch of land before the river deviates north to overcome the “narrow” formed by the hill of Superga. The waters of the municipal area are conveyed into the Po by the Meletta torrent (which flows south of the town) and by the Stellone river, a tributary of the Banna. Over time, the nature of the soil has determined the accumulation of sands from the river which in that stretch releases the sediments torn into the mountain course.

The territory, rich in green spaces, has important institutions such as the Bosco del Gerbasso, the Cascina Vigna park (where, among other things, the local Civic Museum of Natural History is located) and the Special Nature Reserve of the Oxbow of San Michele nearby of the river Po.

History
Origins
The first nucleus of the city was known as “Contrada Gardexana” and was born as a stronghold in a marshy site, around which the first inhabitants settled since the year 1000, gathered in the villages of San Giovanni in the Zucchea, Santa Maria di Viurso west, Santa Maria di Moneta east, Salsasio. It was probably the Saracen raids between the 11th and 12th centuries that pushed part of the villagers to seek refuge in the swamp, creating the center which in the 14th century will be surrounded by walls.

Carmagnola was mentioned for the first time in 1034 in an act in which the abbot of the Abbey of Nonantola in the Modena area gave the lordship of 40 castles to Bosone and Guidone, sons of the Marquis Arduino d’Ivrea. The first family that built the city was called Aloa almost certainly they are the descendants of Alineo Robaldini, Vasallo di Ruggero and Arduino II. Carmagnola was a fief of the Marquises of Romagnano until 1163 (Manfredo II of Romagnano was the grandson of Arduino IV).

Middle Ages
On the death of the last arduinica Adelaide di Susa (1091) the lordship of the city was divided between the Romagnano, the Counts of Lomello (descendants of Cuniberto brother of Pietro, imperial chancellor of Arduino d’Ivrea), the Marquises of Vasto and finally in the 1200 from the Marquises of Saluzzo of Aleramic descent. In 1203 the representatives of the four factions that were part of four Hospitia Militumthey obtained the first jurisdictional reliefs. They were the representatives of the Carmagnola family, which also included the Gatti and Craveri, the Lovencito family and the Granetto de Gerbo and Granetto de Fogliati families. These franchises were then reconfirmed in the house of Buongiovanni Granetto in 1244 by the Marquis Bonifacio II of Monferrato (1202-1253), regent by the will of Manfredo III of Saluzzo of his son Tommaso orphan at the age of five.

From 1200 until the mid-sixteenth century Carmagnola remained subject to the dominion of the Marquises of Saluzzo, who from the first moment made substantial changes to the town structure, building the castle, originally enclosed within a fortified citadel, and surrounding the same urban settlement with walls and ditches. During this period Carmagnola, whose strategic importance in a military sense was progressively increasing, was also able to benefit from the great impulse that the marquisate gave to trade and the city life itself was positively affected in the cultural and artistic sphere.

In 1309 the first city council was established. In 1375 the mayors Antonio Granetto and Giovanni Masconderio gave Captain Guidone De Morgis the promise of the Marquis Federico II of Saluzzo (1332-1396) to pledge to kingCharles V of France (1338-1380) as Delfino, the castle and the land of Carmagnola. Around 1382, in the meantime, the famous Francesco Bussone, known as “Il Carmagnola” (or improperly “The Count of Carmagnola”), was born near the city, a famous leader of the late Middle Ages who was also sung by Alessandro Manzoni in his famous tragedy.

From 1486 to 1490 Carmagnola was ruled by the Duke Carlo I of Savoy and then returned under the marquises of Saluzzo. Between the 15th and 16th centuries the mint of the Marquises of Saluzzo in Carmagnola minted various coins. Some with the effigy of Ludovico II di Saluzzo and Margherita di Foix, which are currently highly sought after by collectors, others very famous such as the ” Cornuto ” with the representation on the front of the emperor Constantine I on horseback. On the death of Lodovico II di Saluzzo the regency passed to Margherita di Foix, who elected Francesco Cavazza as Vicar. In 1542 the city was taken by the Marquis del Vasto but immediately taken up by the French.

Renaissance
In 1544 the Battle of Ceresole, won by the French over the Spaniards, marked the end of the marquisate of Saluzzo. The battle of Ceresole (1544), won by the French over the Spaniards, marked the end of the agonizing marquisate of Saluzzo. During the forty years of French occupation that followed (1548-1588), the transformation of the city into a fortified stronghold was completed, with the introduction of a second wall with bastions. During the forty years of French regency that followed (1548-1588), a court of senescallia was established, governed by the Delfinengo Pietro Granetto, lord of Costigliole, who de facto ruled the fate of the entire city.

In 1588 Carmagnola passed into the hands of the Savoy, when Carlo Emanuele I besieged it and took it away from the French, who seized it again during the seventeenth century, during the civil war that broke out between “Madamists” and “Princes”. It was in this period (1637 – 1642), when the nefarious effects of the plague of 1630 had not yet subsided, that the three large original villages placed close to the city walls were landed because they were in a position such as to compromise the effectiveness defensive structures; they were immediately rebuilt about a mile away from the fortified center, where they still stand today.

When the nefarious effects of the plague of 1630 had not yet subsided, that the three large original villages placed close to the city walls were landed because in such a position as to jeopardize the effectiveness of the defensive structures; they were immediately rebuilt about a mile away from the fortified center, where they are now.

Modern period
In 1690 the city was occupied by the French general Catinat and its territory was completely devastated. In 1691 Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy brought the city back definitively within the Savoy orbit, but it had by now lost its centuries-old military vocation and its defensive role of the area, which is why the demolition of the ramparts and walls began shortly after. towns to favor their enlargement and development, which in fact took place in a remarkable way during the following century.

In 1795 King Vittorio Amedeo III granted Carmagnola as a feudal prerogative to Carlo Felice di Savoia, then Duke of Genevese, and this was the last feudal operation carried out on the municipal territory.

Carmagnola suffered a second and more bloody devastation on May 13, 1799, when the French republicans sacked the village Salsasio, whose villagers had risen, initially winning a victory over the invaders. The French revolutionary general Philibert Fressinet ordered in retaliation the fire of the Salsasio village (Ël borgh ëd la Madòna, in Piedmontese language) and its inhabitants were dispersed or massacred.

Contemporary
While the medieval walls were being demolished, of which a small trace remains in the former covered market in Piazza Antichi Bastioni, and with it the strategic-military role of the city gradually diminished, Carmagnola was able to devote himself to developing its agricultural and commercial vocation, which it earned it a noteworthy reputation in the economic field, mainly linked to the cultivation and marketing of hemp and of canvas and rope products, exported in large quantities to Liguria and the south of France.

In 1853 the railway arrived but the epochal transformation of Carmagnola instead took place a century later with the sudden advent of large industry. In 1960 the construction of the FIAT “Ghisa” plant began and in 1966 the aluminum foundries of Fiat Mirafiori were also transferred to Carmagnola, in the plant that in the 1970s took the name of Teksid. The demographic trend experienced a strong surge also thanks to strong immigration from the southern regions until it stabilized in the 1980s.

This characteristic of a large agricultural and commercial village has been maintained even in the last centuries, until the industrialization process of the second post-war period has generated a profound transformation in a structural and social sense, by virtue of massive immigration and rapid urban expansion.

Economy
The city’s economy is currently linked to the sectors of large industry and the intensive production of vegetables and cereal products.

With regard to industry, there has been a great growth since the sixties, when FIAT opened an important factory (foundry) on the outskirts of the city, attracting thousands of immigrants from Southern Italy. Following the affirmation of FIAT, an increasingly growing development of the induced itself, as well as of other economic realities, increasingly diversified, has constantly followed. The main industrial activities to date are metallurgy, electronics, optics, chemistry and food. The proximity of the city to the river Po also favors the presence of numerous quarries of sand and gravel. The tertiary sector is also well developed, especially in the banking, financial, insurance and services sectors in general.

The agricultural development of Carmagnola in the past centuries is linked to the hemp culture, with the production of cloths and ropes destined mainly for export. The fall in hemp production and trade was dictated by a plurality of reasons, including the more restrictive rules for the affinity between hemp for textile use and that with narcotic effects. The development of techno-fibers then took away a large part of the market. The sandy soils previously destined for the cultivation of hemp proved particularly suitable for the production of vegetables.

Traditional agri-food products
The Ministry of Agricultural Policies, in agreement with the Piedmont region, has recognized for the Carmagnola area the status of traditional agri-food products with three highly appreciated ecotypes: the peppers of Carmagnola; the long sweet leek of Carmagnola; the gray rabbit of Carmagnola. The latter, also linked to the small local agricultural reality, is influenced by the use of rabbit hair for the traditional manufacture of the fine hat, handcrafted especially in the nearby Alessandria.

Historical heritage

Carmagnola Castle (13th century)
Built in the 13th century by Manfredo II, Marquis of Saluzzo, partly destroyed by the Spaniards and rebuilt by the French around the middle of the 16th century. From 1700 to 1863 it was used as a convent by the Filippo Fathers. It currently houses the Town Hall.

Religious architectures

Church of Sant’Agostino
Church built between 1406 and 1437, with apse, east side and bell tower with a marked Gothic connotation such as the apse, the east transept and the pointed and slender bell tower. Inside, the baroque overlaps are evident. The current façade, originally in exposed brick, is the one redesigned by the restorations in 1835.

Its construction began under the auspices of the people and the city congregation of Carmagnola in 1406. In 1567 the façade was embellished, at the behest of Ludovico Gonzaga-Nevers, Duke of Nevers and governor of Carmagnola on behalf of the French, with a large image of Saint Augustine flanked by the coat of arms of the city. A convent had been annexed to the church which was populated by the Augustinians and when the complex, in 1858, it was abandoned by them, the municipal administration bought it and the church was closed to public worship to obtain an exhibition space.

The current facade is the one resulting from the restoration of 1835. The interior of the church, on the other hand, has the typical appearance of the ancient Gothic cathedrals (in stark contrast to the current exterior) and consists of three naves. There you can admire traces of fifteenth-century frescoes and paintings on canvas attributed to Moncalvo and Giovanni Antonio Molineri.

Collegiate Church of Saints Peter and Paul
Church built by the architect Giorgino Costanza di Costigliole between 1492 and 1514. The facade, once in exposed brick, was reshaped in 1894. Inside is the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, of extraordinary decorative richness. The collegiate church of Saints Peter and Paul was strongly desired by the Carmagnolese community and was also financially supported by the Marquis Ludovico I di Saluzzo. The project was entrusted to the architect and noble canon Giorgino Costanza di Costigliole who was also appointed superintendent of the entire project until its completion in 1512. The building, although still incomplete in some decorative parts, was officially consecrated on 25 March 1514 by Msgr. Vacca, delegate of the apostolic administrator of the diocese of Saluzzo, Cardinal Sisto Gara della Rovere. The church, internally, has a basilica plan with three naves, of which the central one is marked by six rectangular bays with a central polygonal apse, covered by a ribbed vault.

Casanova Abbey
The Abbey of Casanova (more properly Abbey of Santa Maria di Casanova) is the most important religious architecture of a regular order in the city of Carmagnola, although it is located in an isolated position with respect to the center of the town. Since the twelfth century it was the seat of a Cistercian cult institute. During the eighteenth century, the abbey also became the residence for the Savoy kings starting from Vittorio Amedeo III.

Church of the Confraternity of San Rocco
The church of San Rocco in Carmagnola is a Baroque-style Catholic church. It dates back to 1699, when, following the plague epidemic that struck the city, a brotherhood dedicated to San Rocco was born, invoked against pestilences and co-patron of the city, who initially had a prayer oratory built in Borgo Moneta.. Today no trace remains of the primitive oratory as it was completely razed to the ground by the French in 1640. In 1668 the works began, based on a project by the architect Francesco Lanfranchi. Made in late Baroque style, the church today presents itself as one of the most successful architectural examples of the period in Piedmont, with a sumptuous set of chiaroscuro effects in the facade, with an unusual, large dome that has become one of the characterizing elements of the town of Carmagnola and a plant Greek cross.

The church of San Rocco is one of the most beautiful and noblest late-seventeenth-century Baroque architecture in Piedmont, sumptuous and rich in chiaroscuro effects on the façade while the mass of its unusual, large dome and the bell tower that rises next to it have become characteristic elements of the profile of Carmagnola, above the roofs. The church of San Rocco offers evocative images of itself from various points of the city.

Inside the church there is also a grandiose organ, built in 1751 by Giacomo Filippo Landesio. The finely crafted case is the work of Alberto Bondetto.

Church of San Filippo
The church of San Filippo (full name church of the Holy Trinity and of San Filippo Neri) was built in Carmagnola by the Filippini fathers, between 1715 and 1739 and was definitively consecrated in 1745 together with that town of San Rocco by the hand of the bishop of Saluzzo, Giuseppe Filippo Porporato.

Rich in masterpieces, the church, built between 1715 and 1739 and consecrated in 1745, is a splendid testimony of Carmagnola’s Baroque architecture. Externally the façade of the church is in Piedmontese baroque style with exposed bricks and terracotta decorations, widely elaborated. It has a rectangular plan, with a single nave on which four chapels open, two on each side.

The first stone of the new church was laid in 1715 and the sacred building was completed – also with extensive use of materials, especially bricks, coming from the demolition of the fortifications – twenty-four years later, but consecrated only in 1745 by Msgr. Cardinal, bishop of Saluzzo. The new church, with its splendid façade, scenographically concluded the perspective from Piazza Sant’Agostino, as if to mark – together with the nearby church of San Rocco – the start of a substantial urban transformation and the expansion of the town of Carmagnola at the end of its long function as a military stronghold.

Internally, the structure has a single span plant on which two chapels open on each side. The main altar is decorated with a large canvas depicting the Holy Trinity, the work of Father Ignazio Fassina (1701-1769). For the interior of their church, the Filipino Fathers wanted an environment of contained sumptuousness, in line with the artistic canons of their time, but without excess of decorations: a large hall that favored the choral performance of religious functions and involved the attention of the faithful towards the presbytery and the high altar.

In 1863 the church and the nearby castle were abandoned by the Filippini fathers and the complex was sold to the municipal administration of Carmagnola. The church, deconsecrated, is currently used for cultural events and exhibitions.

Abbey of Santa Maria di Casanova
Rich in masterpieces, the Cistercian abbey (founded around 1150) is one of the first examples of Gothic in Piedmont, with subsequent Baroque alterations. Today only the church remains of the original foundation, with a facade rebuilt in 1680.

Synagogue
The synagogue of Carmagnola is the last monument left as evidence of the Jewish ghetto that was once inside the city. The structure retains the original architectural features of the eighteenth century, with elegant interiors and baroque style furniture. The Synagogue of Carmagnola is what remains of the ancient ghetto: a tiny building cluster, separated from the plot of the squares, churches, streets and arcades of the city. The Synagogue has kept the original eighteenth-century characters unchanged, and is recognized as the most precious and significant example in Piedmont for the linearity of the forms, for the evocative sequence of spaces, for the graceful elegance of the furnishings.

In the rooms on the ground floor a permanent exhibition was created by the Jewish Community of Turin, curated by architects Franco Lattes and Paola Valentini. In the exhibition, through words, images, drawings, objects and sounds, a synthetic itinerary develops that tells the story of the Piedmontese synagogues, and documents the great effort made over the years, and which still continues, to restore the buildings and preserve the traces of the Jewish presence in Piedmont.

The synagogues, with the other material evidence of the Jewish presence, can through restoration return to the fullness of their original use, where nuclei of Jewish communities still exist and, when this is not possible, they constitute an irreplaceable opportunity to investigate and make known the Jewish presence on the territory. During the visit, through various communication languages, the themes related to the space of the synagogues take shape. The path, as far as possible, crosses a temporal sequence, from the eighteenth-century prayer rooms, which have remained in their original configuration, through the synagogues renovated in the nineteenth century, up to the Jewish temples of Turin and Vercelli. Two examples, Carmagnola and Turin,

Civil architectures

Carmagnola Castle
The Castle of Carmagnola was built in the 13th century by the Marquis Manfredo II of Saluzzo and was subsequently partially destroyed by the Spaniards and then rebuilt again by the French in the mid-16th century. Conquered together with the city by the Savoy family, from the 18th century until 1863 it was the seat of a local convent owned by the Filipino fathers.

It currently houses the headquarters of the local municipal administration.

San Lorenzo Hospital
Already known by this name since 1311, it was born as a shelter for pilgrims and as assistance to the local population. In 1584 the old hospital building was demolished to make way for the enlargement of the city fortifications, but the institution continued to survive on the current site, which is also distant from the original place of construction of the building. In 1754 the construction of the new hospital building was started on a project by the Piedmontese architect Filippo Castelli. The structure was further expanded between 1787 and 1790 with the construction of the north wing and in 1856an additional part was added to the east on a project by the architect Alberto Tappi di Carignano.

In 1999 the first restorations of the ancient structure were carried out for the adaptation of the building to modern health standards, including the recovery of the attic, where the surgery and urology departments were located. A new 5500 m² building connected to the old building by two covered streets was also added to the complex. The hospital is now managed by the Local Health Authority Torino 5.

Palazzo Lomellini
Palazzo Lomellini was built around the middle of the fifteenth century, but it underwent heavy alterations in the eighteenth century which, however, could not completely erase the signs of Gothic and single-lancet windows with terracotta frames that were in the upper part of the building and which today are in mostly walled up. The family that had this residence built in Carmagnola was that of the Lomellini (probably originally from Genoa), of whom we have news of permanent residence in the city from the beginning of the seventeenth century, that is when the members of the family themselves decided to register the their gentry weapon.

The family owned the palace until 1717, when the last descendant of the family, Maddalena Pertusia Lomellini, decided to leave it as an inheritance to the Congregation of Charity of San Paolo which for about sixty years dealt with the religious vocations of the city, in particular for those who, despite wanting to pursue an ecclesiastical career, could not afford it.

The congregation sold the property to the Municipal Administration in 1939 which, at the end of renovations, built the seat of the Civic Gallery of Contemporary Art of Carmagnola.

The structure has a quadrangular structure and appears on the whole of severe forms, softened only by the presence of some shaped terracotta bands that divide the facade horizontally. Unusual and far from the original project is also the small angular bell tower that opens on the left side of the facade and goes beyond the profile of the roof of the complex. Under this bell tower there is still today a fresco (in a very bad state of conservation) depicting Saint Paul. Inside, the portico has three spans with pointed arches without capitals, supported by heavy quadrangular pillars. The porch ceiling is coffered in once painted wood.

Cavassa House
A noble building dating back to the fifteenth century, Casa Cavassa was built by Enrico Cavassa, a member of a wealthy family who with him for the first time reached the high political offices of the marquisate of Saluzzo. The quadrangular structure has a rich decorative and ornamental apparatus, with a richly frescoed façade in grisaille of which today only hints remain, including a very curious “Procession of elephants”, recently restored, seems to have been carried out in 1567 on the occasion of the visit to Carmagnola by Duke Ludovico Gonzaga-Nevers. The internal courtyard has a remarkable loggia with wooden coffered ceilings on the first floor which date back to the 16th-17th centuries. Today Casa Cavassa is the seat of the “F. Bussone” Workers’ Mutual Aid Society.

House of Sundials (or Piano house)
What is popularly called “House of the Sundials” is actually a stately building built in the center of the city of Carmagnola in the first half of the sixteenth century and always belonged to the wealthy Cavassa family. The characteristic name with which it is best known is due to the extraordinary complex of frescoes still present today and made in the years 1555-57, which represents several perfectly functioning sundials and sundials.

Casa Borioli
Built in the 15th century, Casa Borioli was heavily altered over the centuries by various interventions that have definitively compromised its original appearance. The frames of two large pointed arch windows on the first floor, made with terracotta tiles, remain of Gothic style. On the ground floor, the house has a four-bay portico with a barrel vault and pointed arches resting on sturdy granite pillars.

Cultural space

Ecomuseum of the Culture of Hemp Processing
The cultivation of hemp in the Carmagnola area has ancient origins. The ecomuseum of the culture and processing of hemp passes on the history and culture of the processing of this fiber, through practical demonstrations and the exhibition of tools. Under a long canopy, the last true sentè dating back to 1905 still existing in Borgo San Bernardo, the wise culture of working hemp and making ropes is preserved and handed down; one of the oldest craft activities in our territory. The term sentè means the narrow and long canopies, the walkways, the “paths” where hemp ropes were worked and produced. The signs of the hemp processing activity are also still perfectly legible even outside the museum, preserved in the architecture of the houses of the Borgo and in the surrounding landscape, shaped by streams, ditches and macerators.

Civic Gallery of Contemporary Art – Palazzo Lomellini
Palazzo Lomellini, owned by the Municipality of Carmagnola since 1939, is the seat of the Civic Gallery of Contemporary Art and part of the Carmagnola museums network. Palazzo Lomellini is one of the most important noble residences that can still be admired walking through Carmagnola, it preserves an austere and elegant beauty that reaches us unchanged through six centuries of history. Its elegant façade in exposed brick rises on Piazza Sant’Agostino with a portico of pointed arches, six rectangular windows on two floors and a small bell tower elevated to the north west, above a fresco of San Paolo.

Palazzo Lomellini is the most important center of cultural production in the whole territory south of Turin. Years of exhibition activity, during which authoritative names of the contemporary artistic panorama have alternated, make it a prestigious institution, able to arouse constant attention from different cultural environments throughout our country. The choice, in the last period, to host exhibitions also of an ethnographic type and in any case not always exclusively of art, expresses a desire for dialogue with reality and the world, which does not betray the vocation of contemporary art but encourages it. The palace is the seat of exhibition activities.

Civic Museum of Natural History
The Civic Museum of Natural History of Carmagnola (Turin – Italy) was founded following two successive floods of the city, which occurred in September 1973 and February 1974. Following these events, what was saved from the naturalistic collections of the pre-existing “Civic Museum” and the scientific cabinets of two schools was recovered and restored; at the same time there was also the opportunity to collect biological material in the field, especially insects, abandoned or carried by water. The Museum was inaugurated in 1976 in Palazzo Lomellini, in the city center. In 1990 it was moved to its current location in Cascina Vigna, in the city park of the same name, located on the outskirts of the city, a few kilometers from the course of the Po River. Since in the meantime the river area has been included in the System of Protected Areas of the Region Piedmont, the museum has also become the Park Visitor Center.

The Civic Museum of Natural History of Carmagnola today preserves important scientific collections regarding minerals, plants and animals, with particular reference to insects, reptiles and birds. The specimens from the scientific collections are used in the research carried out by numerous Italian and foreign researchers. The Museum has also activated numerous agreements for teaching and research with various Bodies and Associations, including the Poil River Park Regional Museum of Natural Sciences of Turin, the Departments of Earth Sciences and Animal Biology of the University of Turin.

Civic Naval Museum
The naval museum documents daily life at sea: the history of the Italian Navy, naval activities from the unification of Italy to today, the marine environment and naval modeling. The museum is inserted in the history of the Carmagnola culture due to the ancient link with rope processing. The Naval Civic Museum was founded on the initiative of the local Group of the National Sailors of Italy Association with the aim of bringing people closer to the sea that has so much importance for the life of the country and at the same time to make known the maritime tradition of Piedmont.

Although Piedmont is not located near the sea, it has given and continues to make a notable contribution to the Italian Navy in terms of men and materials. As for the men, the Piedmontese noble families have for centuries provided valuable officers to the Navy of the House of Savoy, initially based on Lake Geneva and then from 1388 in the port of Villafranca near Nice and after 1815 when Liguria was united to the Kingdom of Sardinia’s fleet increased considerably. As for the materials, hemp was grown in Carmagnola, which was then processed in the small artisan companies of the place and transformed into sails and ropes necessary to set up the maneuvers of the ships. Thus a natural connection was established between the local countryside and the shipbuilding industry of the Ligurian Riviera, but also of France and even England. The workers of the many industries specialized in the nautical sector were therefore called to serve in the Navy, thus strengthening that ancient close relationship of familiarity between Piedmont and the sea.

“Rondani” Typographical Museum
The museum established in 1921 by Vincenzo and Giacomo Rondani, owners of the Scholastic Typography, preserves engravings, typographic matrices, books that testify five hundred years of Carmagnola’s printing activity. The museum is located in the headquarters of the former Scholastic Typography, and preserves engravings, typographic and chalcographic matrices, ancient books and documents, collections of illustrated devotional posters, presses and materials from different origins that testify to five hundred years of work. The visit is an evocative journey through the history of printing, from the invention of Gutemberg to the present day. After various events, which caused its closure and the dispersion of materials, the museum was reopened in 1997 on the occasion of the celebrations for the 500th anniversary of the printing activity in Carmagnola. Subsequently the museum was moved to via Santorre di Santarosa, where the historic printing house was located. The museum organizes temporary exhibitions.

Festivals and events
National Pepper Fair – Peperò (Festival until the 2016 edition). It takes place annually between the last week of August and the first of September; is an eno-gastronomic event lasting ten days and dedicated to the typical product of Carmagnola. It attracts more than 250,000 visitors every year. On the occasion of the 61st festival, on 5 September 2010, Carmagnola entered the Guinness Book of Records for the largest peperonata in the world, 1,190 kg
Mercantico: takes place on the second Sunday of each month (except August). It is a market for small antiques, antiques, junk, and hosts over 400 stalls along the historic city center
Ortoflora and nature: annual event held in early April (weekend) in the Cascina Vigna municipal park. The event is dedicated to gardening and horticulture
Spring Fair: held annually, in March, and is a fair dedicated to agricultural and non-agricultural trade, full of stalls and collateral events
National Grandfather Day: takes place annually in the middle of September, inside the “Cascina Vigna” park. It had its first edition in September 2003
Other events include “Carmagnola Jazz Festival”, “Carmagnola City of Art and Culture”, “National Ornithological Competition”, “Regional Beef Cattle Fair”

Natural space

Bosco del Gerbasso
A little further downstream from the oxbow of San Michele is the Bosco del Gerbasso. The Municipality of Carmagnola, with the scientific advice of the experts of the local Museum of Natural History, in 1987 created the Bosco del Gerbasso, an educational example of the ancient and immense plain forest that once covered the entire Po Valley. The Bosco del Gerbasso extends over 19 hectares and includes a willow grove, an oak-hornbeam and a lawn area.

Cascina Vigna Park
The public park of Cascina Vigna, born in 1990 with the renovation of the homonymous farmhouse, five minutes from the historic center of the city is a pleasant and popular green area and has a variety of views that spread over an area of 60,000 square meters. Spaces for walking and running, areas equipped and accessible to all to have a snack, play, skate: all immersed in the variety of about 45 different species of flowering trees and shrubs.

Special Nature Reserve of the Oxbow of San Michele
By “Lanca” di San Michele, also known as the “Dead Po”, we mean a stretch of river bed that suddenly, due to natural causes such as a strong flood, is abandoned by the river which creates a new flow bed. In particular, the Oxbow of San Michele was formed in 1977 following a flood of the Po when a huge mass of water opened a new, more straight path, “jumping” the ancient one that was constituted, in that stretch, by a wide curve. Thus one of the most interesting and best preserved humid environments in the whole plain south of Turin was created; a small, fascinating and precious ecosystem today protected as a Special Nature Reserve of the Po Park.

Over the decades, the natural oxbow lakes tend to transform into a marshy area, with increasingly muddy bottoms up to a progressive burial. To safeguard and protect their environmental and naturalistic value over time, rejuvenation interventions are also used, in case of need, to remove part of the debris, sediments in the seabed and reeds to increase the flow of water and maintain the delicate original balance. The Oxbow of San Michele, on the other hand, still has a natural outlet, fed by groundwater, which, winding through large willows, flows into the nearby Po.

From the moment of its natural formation, in 1977, the Oxbow of San Michele has therefore gradually developed its own ecosystem typical of the few surviving wetlands of the plain. The variety of existing vegetation specimens (some very rare), flora and fauna is very rich, in particular bird species that live in closer symbiosis with marshy environments: the little grebe, the garganey duck, the mallard, the coot, the moorhen, the kingfisher.