Comune Balzola

via Roma, 69 - 15031 Balzola (AL)
Tel. +39 (0142) 804.243
Fax: +39 (0142) 804.243
E-mail: sindaco@comune.balzola.al.it
http://www.comune.balzola.al.it

On the border between the provinces of Alessandria and Vercelli, to the left of the Po River, lies Balzola, which developed at the intersection of several secondary roads.
The municipal territory is crisscrossed by a dense network of irrigation ditches: here, water is a fundamental element, more so than elsewhere, as the predominant crop is rice.
The etymology of the name appears to derive from a morphological change in the land caused by the erosion of the banks of the Po and can be traced back to the Latin term balteum, meaning leap, and its diminutive balteola.
Numerous discoveries of tombs, pottery, and stretches of road pavement testify to its Roman origins under the name Carbantia, while valuable historical monuments also commemorate the subsequent centuries.
The town was granted by Otto III to the Abbey of Novalesa, from which it passed to Vercelli in the person of Bishop Leone, forming part of the city's forane defense system. Subjected to the jurisdiction of the Marquises of Monferrato, it was successively granted to various feudal lords, including the Counts of Biandrate.
In 1615, Balzola was devastated and burned by the troops of Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy, to prevent the Spanish from establishing themselves in a strategically important town. During the Second War of Independence, in May 1859, it was the scene of fierce fighting with the Austrians.