• For the medieval scholar Tortona, see Marziano da Tortona

Tortona is a comune of Piedmont, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Appennines. A scholar is either a student or someone who has achieved a mastery of some academic discipline. ... In Italy, the commune (comune, plural comuni) is the basic administrative unit of both provinces and regions, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township. ... Piedmont is a region of northwestern Italy. ... Alessandria (It. ... Places that have the name Marengo: Marengo, Indiana Marengo, Illinois Marengo, Iowa Marengo, Ohio Marengo County, Alabama There was a battle called the Battle of Marengo: Battle of Marengo (1800) During the French occupation of northern Italy in early 19th century there was a département of Marengo: Marengo (département) This...

Its ancient name was Dertona. Dertona was probably the oldest colony under Roman rule in the westernmost section of the Valley of the Po, on the road leading from Genua (Genoa) to Placentia (Piacenza). The city was founded circa 118 BC - 123 BC at the junction of the great roads; the Via Postumia and the Via Aemilia Scauri which merged to become the Via Julia Augusta. The site made Dertona an important military station under the Romans. Po redirects here, for alternate uses see Po (disambiguation). ... Genua is a fictional city from Terry Pratchetts Discworld novels. ... Placentia is the name of some places in the world: Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada Placentia, California, United States of America The Palace of Placentia was a royal palace in Greenwich, London Piacenza in Italy was formerly called Placentia in Latin and English Placencia de las Armas and Plentzia are... Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 160s BC 150s BC 140s BC 130s BC 120s BC - 110s BC - 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC Years: 123 BC 122 BC 121 BC 120 BC 119 BC - 118 BC - 117 BC 116 BC... Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC 140s BC 130s BC - 120s BC - 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC Years: 128 BC 127 BC 126 BC 125 BC 124 BC - 123 BC - 122 BC 121 BC...

A bishopric was founded at Tortona early, but its first bishops are purely legendary, like Saint Marcianus of Tortona, called the first bishop of Piedmont and a disciple of Barnabas, the companion of Paul. Until the 9th century, the city was under the rule of its bishop; in 1090 it became a commune. In 1133 the diocese was separated from the archbishopric of Milan to the new archdiocese of Genoa (CE "Lombardy"). During the Middle Ages, Tortona was a faithful ally of the Guelphs and was destroyed several times. From 1260 to 1347 the city was dominated by a series of different Italian noble families and adventurers like Facino Cane de Cesale, who in the unsettled affairs of Lombardy had assembled a string of lordships and great wealth which he bequeathed to his wife, Beatrice, and arranged with his friends that a marriage should be effected between her and Filippo Maria Visconti. According to Macchiavelli (History of Florence, ch. 7) "By this union Filippo became powerful, and reacquired Milan and the whole of Lombardy. By way of being grateful for these numerous favors, as princes commonly are, he accused Beatrice of adultery and caused her to be put to death" [1]. In this way, in 1347, Tortona was decisively incorporated into the territories of Milan, where it remained until 1735. Then following the vicissitudes of the War of the Polish Succession, the city was occupied by the King of Sardinia, and "count of Tortona" was added to the titles of the House of Savoy. (In effect, everything that was contributed by an anon editor at IP 80. ... Events Granada captured by Yusuf Ibn Tashfin, King of the Almoravides Beginnings of troubadours in Provence Bejaia becomes the capital of the Algeria Births William of Malmsbury Saint Bernard of Clairvaux Saint Famianus Eliezer ben Nathan of Mainz Deaths Saint Malcoldia of Asti Saint Adalbero Categories: 1090 ... Defensive towers at San Gimignano, Tuscany, bear witness to the factional strife within communes. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting, respectively, the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire in Italy during the 12th century and 13th century. ... Events End of the reign of Emperor Go-Fukakusa of Japan Emperor Kameyama ascends to the throne of Japan September 3 - Mongols defeated by Mameluks at Battle of Ain Jalut Samogatians and Curonians defeats Teutonic knights in Battle of Durbe Births Maximus Planudes, Byzantine grammarian and theologian Deaths Monarchs/Presidents... -1... Filippo Maria Visconti Filippo Maria Visconti, (1392–1447), who became nominal ruler of Pavia in 1402, succeeded his assassinated brother Gian Maria Visconti as Duke of Milan. ... Detail of the portrait of Machiavelli, ca 1500, in the robes of a Florentine public official Niccolò Machiavelli (May 3, 1469 – June 21, 1527) was a Florentine statesman and political philosopher. ... Location within Italy Piazza della Scala Milan (Italian: Milano; Milanese dialect: Milán) is the main city in northern Italy, and is located in the plains of Lombardy, the most populated and developed of Italian regions. ... Events 16 April - The London premiere of Alcina by George Frideric Handel, his first the first Italian opera for the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden. ... The War of the Polish Succession (1733-1738) was a European war and a Polish civil war, with considerable interference from other countries, to determine the succession to Augustus II, King of Poland, as well as an attempt by the Bourbon powers to check the power of Austria in western... The House of Savoy was a dynasty of nobles who traditionally had their domain in Savoy, a region between Piedmont, Italy, France and French-speaking Switzerland. ... The House of Savoy was a dynasty of nobles who traditionally had their domain in Savoy, a region between Piedmont, Italy, France and French-speaking Switzerland. ...

Notable Tortonesi

• Saint Innocent of Tortona (died ca. 350), who survived the persecutions and was sent as bishop to Tortona by Pope Sylvester.
• Bishop Gezo of Tortona in the 10th century wrote a Treatise on the Body and Blood of the Lord one of the few important theological works of the century in Italy [2].
• Marziano da Tortona, secretary to duke Filippo Maria Visconti of Milan is one of the people credited with inventing the card game of Tarocchi [3].

... Filippo Maria Visconti Filippo Maria Visconti, (1392–1447), who became nominal ruler of Pavia in 1402, succeeded his assassinated brother Gian Maria Visconti as Duke of Milan. ... Tarocchi, also known as tarock, is a trick-taking game, and one of the oldest card games known. ...

External link

• Catholic Encyclopedia: Tortona

References

• The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites (eds. Richard Stillwell, William L. MacDonald, Marian Holland McAllister)
• Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD)

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Catholic Encyclopedia.