Sassello
Sassello | |
|---|---|
| Comune di Sassello | |
 | |
Location of Sassello  | |
UTC+2 (CEST) | |
| Postal code | 17046 |
| Dialing code | 019 |
| Website | Official website |
Sassello (
Part of Sassello's territory lies within the boundaries of the Parco naturale regionale del Beigua.[3]
History
Little is known of pre-historic and even medieval events before 1000 AD, although the area has certainly been visited - if not inhabited - by stone age humans, as evidenced by tools and weapons found locally.
From 1570 to 1670 it was the seat of large ironworks[7] which only the widespread use of coal made obsolete.
Culture
The ironworks period represented a golden age for Sassello, whose population rose perhaps to 5,000 people.[7] The urban character of the settlement allowed for the development of a learned élite and a small vernacular literature. A song, still popular today, was composed during the 1747 war as a reaction to the Austro-Piedmontese occupation, carried out by a horde of Croatian mercenaries.[6] It goes:[8]
| (vernacular)
A ṙa Badia an tei palâzzi l'è rivâ na nija d'Chervâzzi da ṙa Rocca dra Maṙâsca a n'è vgnuggua sta burrâsca. |
(EN)
In the Abbey and the abodes Of Croatians there were loads Down from the Marasca wall This disgrace would befall |
| (Popular song of Sassello, ca. 1748) | |
Also in vernacular, Abbot Gio Lorenzo Federico Gavotti composed Ei quattei stagiugni sascline ("The four seasons of Sassello").[9] "Sassello" is another much longer poem that Gavotti composed together with his friend B. Zunini. It revolves around the local costumes during the first decades of the 1800s. It was written in standard Italian with only a few verses in vernacular.[9] Jacopo Perrando (1853-1917), author of a fairy tale "Scisciacco" is also worth mentioning.[6]
Economy
After the collapse of the ironworks and the annexation to the Kingdom of Sardinia, an impoverished population drew its subsistence from agriculture and forestry. Strong ties with Genoa meant the penetration of a dense trading network. With the rise of the Genoese bourgeoisie, Sassello became a tourist destination, as rich summer dwellings were built. Today, tourism and confectionery industry are its main economic resources.[7] The recent inclusion of part of its territory within the Regional Park of Mount Beigua opens new perspectives in this sense.
Twin towns
Sassello is
Les Alqueries, Spain, since 2002
See also
References
- ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- Istat.
- ^ "Comuni del Parco". www.parcobeigua.it. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
- ^ Quaderni dell'Istituto di geologia della Università di Genova (in Italian). L'Istituto. 1980.
- ^ Liv. 42, 8
- ^ a b c d e f Rossi, Piero (1991). Sassello, storia e cultura. Associazione amici del Sassello.
- ^ a b c d e Garino, Mario (1964). Storia di Sassello (in Italian). Casa editrice liguria.
- ISBN 9788880125235.
- ^ a b Alessandra Badano, "Il poema Sassello di GLF Gavotti, B. Zunini e G. Gavotti", Graduation Thesis, University of Genova, 1992
