Comune Pecetto di Valenza

piazza Italia, 1 - 15040 Pecetto di Valenza (AL)
Tel. +39 (0131) 940.121
Fax: +39 (0131) 940.707
E-mail: protocollo@comune.pecetto.al.it
http://www.comune.pecettodivalenza.al.it

The town is situated at the far eastern edge of northern Monferrato, on a hillside that slopes gently towards the right bank of the River Po into which merges the River Tanaro, a little further downstream. Pecetto is the ancient Pecetum Valentium of Roman origin - archaeological excavations have confirmed its importance. There is documented evidence of Lombard settlements. Around the year 1000, when the Aleramici founded the March of Monferrato, Pecetto was also included in the fief of the powerful marquisate. With the rule of the Spanish begun with Charles V the village was definitively annexed to the county of Pavia and to the duchy of Milan. During the war between the French and the Spanish for the dominion of Italy, Pecetto was also the stage of a bloody war and on the feast of Corpus Christi in 1557 the castle was destroyed as documented by the Parish archive. Following the Vienna Congress the municipality returned to the House of Savoy. During the war of independence of 1859 Vittorio Emanuele II climbed the remains of the castle to observe the movements of the Austrian troops which had invaded Lomellina.
The Parish church of Santa Maria, built in 1739, is in Lombard Baroque style and opens onto the square with a graceful staircase surmounted by a Bramante style pronao.
Giuseppe Borsalino was born in Pecetto 'di Valenza on 15 September 1834. At sixteen years of age, he moved to Sestri Ponente from where he embarked for Marseille, France was considered "home of hat production" at the time. In 1857, he returned to Alessandria with the intention of working freelance with his brother Lazzaro. The factory of Alessandria remained the focus of his work. Excellent craftsmen were trained here and the markets were attentively studied, creating the foundations of the fortune of the "Borsalino" brand as Giuseppe strongly desired to make his "hat" an excellent product. In 1888, with the move of the Carlo Alberto Canal, the premises is definitively established in Corso Cento Cannoni with the creation of the factory and the Palazzo Uffici which currently houses the university. At the time of his death in 1900, 750,000 hats were produced annually and 450,000 of these were exported. Giuseppe Borsalino's commitment to social issues should be remembered: he was one of the first great Italian factory owners to create those benefits in favor of workers even before they were provided by the legislator. His son Teresio continued in his footsteps, realizing works and benefits in favor of the employees, of the city of Alessandria and of his father's birth town, Pecetto di Valenza.

(text-extract and photos from the Municipality website)