Vicoforte

Vicoforte (Vi in Piedmontese) is an Italian municipality located in the province of Cuneo, Piedmont, with a population of 3,147.

It is located about 30 km east of Cuneo, at an altitude of 598 m above sea level.

It belongs to the Monte Regale Mountain Union and is located in seismic zone 3A (low seismicity).

Placed in climate zone E, Vicoforte has a heating requirement of 2891 degree days, allowing heating systems to be turned on for fourteen hours daily from October 15 to April 15.

Originally called Vico (from the Latin Vicus, a place inhabited by rural people), it assumed its present name on December 14, 1862, made official by royal decree on January 11, 1863.

The term “fort” was added because of the presence of a fortification until 1684.

History

Initially inhabited by the Liguri Bagienni, the area was conquered by the Romans in the 1st century BC, who integrated the local population into the Camilia tribe.

Finds of Roman tombs, now preserved in the Cuneo Civic Museum, testify to this presence.

Little is known of the early medieval period, but around the year 1000, Vico is mentioned as part of the Committee of Bredulo.

In the January 26, 1041 diploma of Emperor Henry III the Black, the parish of San Pietro in Vico is mentioned for the first time.

In 1118, the community of Vico obtained co-ownership of local woodlands with the bishop of Asti, and in 1210 it drafted its first code of written laws, the Consuetudini di Vico.

In the early decades of the 13th century, many families moved to nearby high ground, forming the Villa Nova, later called Montis Regalis, today’s Mondovi.

After 1231, Vico was reduced to a village and administered by the Monregalese district until the July 19, 1698 edict of Victor Amadeus II of Savoy.

In the 16th century, Marian devotion led to the construction of the shrine, while in the following century, Vico participated in the Salt War, during which the local fortress was destroyed by insurgents, causing deportations and administrative changes.

In 1722, Vico was enfeoffed to Count Giuseppe Gerolamo Derossi of Usseglio, and in 1748 it was purchased by the Ferrero d’Ormea family, who held it until 1796.

Its strategic location attracted the interest of Napoleon Bonaparte during the Italian campaign, provoking reprisals and vandalism.

In 1809, the French hosted Pope Pius VII as a prisoner.

In the 20th century, Vicoforte suffered losses during the Resistance and in 1994 was hit by a flood that claimed one life.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of Vicoforte, described as “gules, to the silver cross,” is adorned with a palm frond and an eagle, with a marquis crown.

Although not yet officially recognized, the coat of arms bears the Latin motto “Viribus Ingenique Ciunt Utroque Superbos,” based on the historical designs of the municipal banner.

The gonfalon is a drape of azure.