The League's new city of 1168 at the meeting of the Tanaro and the Bormida, built from the villages of Gamondio, Marengo and Bergoglio with others, walled with Genoese money, besieged in vain by Barbarossa in 1174-75.
Renamed Caesarea in 1183; back to Alessandria in its own usage since the revolt after Henry VI's death.
Who holds it
- Name
- Not pinned for 1 January 1200
- Title
- Podesta or consuls
- Since
- not pinned
- Confidence
- low
See Alessandria.
Lord in 1200
The commune of Alessandria (officers not pinned). Henry VI's grant of the city in fief to Boniface of Montferrat (1193) is a dead letter since the revolt of 1197-98.
Overlord
The emperor.
Allies and rivals
See Alessandria.
How things stand that morning
Self-governing; in the anti-Montferrat league under truce.
Threats
- Montferrat
- Acqui
Charter
Founded 1168 (official date 3 May 1168); joined the Lombard League; the reconciliation of 1183 with the emperor (renamed Caesarea); granted to Boniface of Montferrat at Gelnhausen on 4 December 1193.
Council
Consuls (three signed the League adhesion at Lodi in 1168); the officers of 1200 are not pinned.
Communities
The quarters of the founding villages: Gamondio, Marengo and Rovereto on the right bank, Bergoglio on the left.
Militia
The communal host; no figures.
Walls and castle
Earth and timber walls of the 1170s, reinforced; the Tanaro bridge to Bergoglio.
Trade and crafts
A crossroads of the roads from Genoa to Lombardy and Piedmont; river crossings.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1200 (date not pinned)New officers take office.Depends on: The usual election date. Stopped by: Strife.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Foundation and name history attested; institutions in 1200 not.
Primary sources for Alessandria
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Genoa, by Caffaro and his continuators, with Ogerio Pane for 1197 to 1219, Ogerio Pane and the other official annalists of Genoa (year by year under the commune's authority; the 1197 to 1219 section by Ogerio Pane). The official record of the commune. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.