San Cristoforo is a comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

(municipality) in the Province of Alessandria

Province of Alessandria

The Province of Alessandria is an Italian province, with a population of some 430,000, which forms the southeastern part of the region of Piedmont. The provincial capital is the city of Alessandria....

 in the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 region Piedmont

Piedmont

Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...

, located about 90 km southeast of Turin

Turin

Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

 and about 30 km southeast of Alessandria

Alessandria

-Monuments:* The Citadel * The church of Santa Maria di Castello * The church of Santa Maria del Carmine * Palazzo Ghilini * Università del Piemonte Orientale-Museums:* The Marengo Battle Museum...

. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 595 and an area of 3.6 km².

San Cristoforo borders the following municipalities: Capriata d'Orba

Capriata d'Orba

Capriata d'Orba is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 90 km southeast of Turin and about 25 km south of Alessandria...

, Castelletto d'Orba

Castelletto d'Orba

Castelletto d'Orba is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 90 km southeast of Turin and about 25 km south of Alessandria...

, Francavilla Bisio

Francavilla Bisio

Francavilla Bisio is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 90 km southeast of Turin and about 25 km southeast of Alessandria....

, Gavi

Gavi (commune)

Gavi is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 100 km southeast of Turin and about 30 km southeast of Alessandria....

, Montaldeo

Montaldeo

Montaldeo is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 100 km southeast of Turin and about 35 km southeast of Alessandria...

, and Parodi Ligure

Parodi Ligure

Parodi Ligure is a comune in the province of Alessandria, part of Piedmont, in northwest Italy.-History:Evidence of the existence of the Parodi Ligure region goes back as early as 937 when it was identified as "Palode." It later was assigned to the Castiglione monastery. The town was fortified...

.

History

Situated on an important via of communication that it carried to the ancient city of Libarna, it rose around to a sight tower: the so-called Tower of the Gazzolo, today encompassed in the castle. Preemption of the Obertenghi, passed in 1313 in fief to the Spinola di Luccoli, for disposition of Enrico VII emperor. The village had more times, and occupied in the 1625 from the troops franc-savoiarde and in the 1654 from the piemontesi. In the century XVI it passed to the Doria, like imperial fief until 1732, when becoming sabaudo.

The Castle

The castle of the Spinola is built from a complex of buildings hedged by walls, in which the parochial church is comprised. The castle is a quadrilateral hedged by a ditch, built around to the ancient tower of the Gazzolo. To the west of the castle, the Casa Lunga (long house), building of 15th century, today are used like building of representation of the comune (municipality), whereas to east the foresteria (guest quarters) is situated, a time connected through a passage to the nail head of the parochial church. This church is dedicated to martyr S.Cristoforo, it is built of XV the century, but redecorated and widened in the 1800, conserve three statues dedicated to Nostra Signora del Carmelo, to San Cristoforo and to Madonna del S. Rosario.