"Territorial promiscuity” and border demarcation in Piedmont. The case of Piovà Massaia and Cerreto d’Asti

Abstract

The relationship between a community organized in an established administrative structure and the surrounding territory and its exploitable resources is not always definitely biunique. We will discuss some cases in Piedmont, illustrating the persistence of situations dating back to the Middle Ages that still affect the administrative structures. Particular attention will be given to the boundary dispute between Cerreto d’Asti and Piovà Massaia, originating from a long-lasting condition of uncertain boundaries between the two territories. Originally, both villages were part of one ecclesiastical-political district (the Mairate parish church), with no territorial divisions. In the Modern Age each of them achieved a more defined territorial status; yet, there remained (and still remain) areas of uncertain attribution. The dispute that is now in progress is the heritage of a territorial organization dating back to the Middle Ages, at present opposing a different, universally adopted model. Thus two alternatives – originally not in contrast – emerge: either sharing the territorial resources or exploiting them in an exclusive way.