Comune Odalengo Grande

piazza San Defendente, 1 - 15020 Odalengo Grande (AL)
Tel. +39 (0142) 949.021
Fax: +39 (0142) 949.229
E-mail: odalengo.grande@ruparpiemonte.it
http://www.comune.odalengogrande.al.it/

The first documents in the municipal archive date back to 1682, but its foundation is certainly earlier, as a plaque inscribed in the current town hall reads: "COMUNITAS ODALENGI MAGNI HOC OPUS FE… 1603."; although it is unknown what was accomplished then.
However, as early as 1305, Odalengo Grande participated in an assembly held in Trino, following the death of Marquis Giovanni, with four representatives instead of two, a privilege granted only to municipalities.
The first settlements likely date back to an ancient Roman settlement located in the valley near the Stura stream or in the current town of Odalengo Grande. In the spring of 570, the Lombards, following the course of the Po and Tanaro rivers, occupied our lands; due to their small numbers, they were forced to settle in castles and fortified areas that nevertheless allowed for good control of the territory. Our municipality's name derives from the noble class of these people, the "adelingi."
The first written records of the village date back to 940, and it is certain that in the 10th century, the list of royal courts serving the Imperial Table included only three in the entire Monferrato area (and twenty-eight between Piedmont and Lomellina): Torcello, Casale di S.Evasio, and Odalengo.
In 1070, Emperor Henry IV confirmed possession of these lands to the Bishop of Vercelli; they subsequently passed to the Marquis of Monferrato, as evidenced by a diploma from Emperor Frederick in 1164 in favor of William of Monferrato.
Over the following centuries, the community participated in various meetings and assemblies with a large number of representatives, suggesting that it enjoyed a certain administrative autonomy.
On August 4, 1388, Theodore II convened a parliament with the aim of establishing a tax for the towns of Monferrato based on their importance and size; The sums paid allow us to make a comparison between the various villages: Odalengo Grande 82 florins, Odalengo Piccolo 32, Murisengo 36, Treville 65, Rosignano 284, Trino 586, Moncalvo 720, Mirabello 36.
More recently, on August 30, 1454, Giovanni III, Marquis of Monferrato, invested Giacomo Bossi with the fief. On June 30, 1602, Giovanni Giacomo and Giulio Cesare Bossi sold their feudal jurisdiction to the brothers Giovanni Battista and Carlo Morra, from whom Monsignor Tullio Petrozzani of Mantua, along with the Committee, purchased it on September 23, 1602. Finally, Carlo and Teresio Petrozzani sold it to Giovanni Gozani of Luzogna, along with the Committee, on January 19, 1673.
The Gozani Marquises were the last owners of this fiefdom, and despite their short-lived existence there, they left numerous testimonies of their strong ties to Odalengo Grande; the most important of which is undoubtedly the church of San Vittore e Quirico, built in the main town in 1786 at the expense of Luigi Gozani and designed by Magnocavallo.
Further evidence of this connection is that, in addition to having his name, the family coat of arms, and the date of construction inscribed on the tympanum of the façade, he also had a large inscription placed inside that reads: A FUNDAMENTIS EREXIT ARA MAXIMA ORNAVIT ALOYSIUS GOZANI TREVILLARUM ET PERLETI MARCHIO UTRIUSQUE ODALENGI COMES PONTISTURIAE DOMINUS ETC. ETC. A.S.R. MDCCLXXXVII.

(images and text from the municipality's website)