ALESSANDRIA, capital of province of same name and episcopal see, Piedmont, Italy, on the river Tanaro, 57m. S.E. of Turin by rail. Pop. (1931) 56,423 (town), 82,567 (com mune) . Founded in 1168 for defence against the marquis of Monferrato and the town of Pavia, it was besieged in 1174 by Frederick Barbarossa for six months without success. The Lom bard League then included it among the allied cities and named it Alessandria, after Pope Alexander III. It was ceded to Savoy by the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, and its citadel was begun in 1728. Fortifications were made during the French occupation (1800 1814) after Marengo; they were destroyed by the Austrians (1815) and were later rebuilt, but are now obsolete, though Alessandria is still an important fortress. The citadel is on the left bank of the Tanaro, the town on the right. It has various manufactures, especially felt hats, is a commercial centre and the focus of railway lines to Turin via Asti, to Valenza (thence to Vercelli, Mortara—for Novara or Milan—and Pavia), to Tortona, to Novi, to Acqui and to Bra.