CASALE MONFERRATO  , a

town and episcopal see of Piedmont, Italy, in the province of Alessandria, 21 M . N.N.W. by rail from the town of Alessandria . Pop . (1901) 18,874 (town); 31,370 (commune) . It lies in the plain on the right bank of the Po, 377 ft. above sea-level, and is a junction for Mortara, Vercelli . Chivasso and Asti; it is also connected by steam tramways with Alessandria, Vercelli and Montemagno . The fine Lombard Romanesque cathedral, originally founded in 742, was rebuilt in the early 12th century and consecrated in 11o6; it suffered from restoration in 1706, but has been brought back to its original form . It contains some good pictures . The church of S . Domenico is a good Renaissance edifice, and there are some fine palaces . The church of S . Ilario is said to occupy the site of a pagan temple, but the name of the ancient town (if any) which occupied this site is not known .

About ro m. distant is the Sacro

Monte di Crea, with eighteen chapels on its slopes containing terra-cotta groups of statues, resembling those at Varallo . Casale Monferrato was given by Charlemagne to the church of Vercelli, but obtained its liberty from Frederick I . (Barbarossa) . It was sacked by the troops of Vercelli, Alessandria and Milan in 1215, but rebuilt and fortified in 1220 . It fell under the power of its marquises in 1292, and became the chief town of a small state . In 1536 it passed to the Gonzagas of Mantua, who fortified it very strongly . It has since been of considerable importance as a fortress: it successfully resisted the Austrians in 1849, and was strengthened in 1852 . There is a large Portland cement factory here .