Cuneo

Cuneo (Fr. Coni), a town and episcopal see of Piedmont, Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, 55 m. by rail S. of Turin, 1722 ft. above sea-level. Cuneo lies on the railway from Turin to Ventimiglia, which farther on passes under the Col di Tenda (tunnel 5 m. long). It is also a junction for Mondovi and Saluzzo, and has steam tramways to Borgo S. Dalmazzo, Boves, Saluzzo and Dronero. Pop. (1901) 15,412 (town), 26,879 (commune). Its name (“wedge”) is due to its position on a hill between two streams, the Stura and the Gesso, with fine views of the mountains. The Franciscan church, now converted into a military storehouse, belongs to the 12th century, but there are no other buildings of special interest. The fortifications have been converted into promenades. Cuneo was founded about 1120 by refugees from local baronial tyranny, who, after the destruction of Milan by Barbarossa, were joined by Lombards. In 1382 it swore fealty to Amedeus VI., duke of Savoy. It was an important fortress, and was ceded by the treaty of Cherasco (1796), with Ceva and Tortona, to the French. In 1799 it was taken after ten days’ bombardment by the Austrian and Russian armies, and, in 1800, after the victory of Marengo, the French demolished the fortifications.