Cerrina Monferrato (population about 1,600) is a commune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northwest of Alessandria. Its municipal borders enclose an area of ranging in elevation from above sea level. The commune borders Gabiano to the north, Mombello Monferrato to the east, Castelletto Merli and Odalengo Piccolo to the south, and Odalengo Grande and Villamiroglio to the west. The two principal population centres are Valle Cerrina which had a population of 583 at the time of the 2001 census, and Cerrina itself, the historic centre and capoluogo which had a population of 353. Montalero (pop. 35) and Rosingo (pop. 261) were both communes in their own right until 1928. The other settlements include Montaldo, Piancerreto and Gaminella: although the last lies mostly within the commune of Mombello Monferrato.Sandro Lombardini, Comune di Cerrina, Schede storico-territoriali dei comuni del Piemonte, (Regione Piemonte, 2002). ‘Popolazione residente – Alessandria (dettaglio loc. abitate) – Censimento 2001’ , 2001 Census, Istat.
History In 2005 Cerrina was the centre of swarms of locusts or grasshoppers (the local Calliptamus italicus) which, unprecedented in their magnitude and moving at speeds of up to , threatened the vineyards of Monferrato and the province of Asti.John Phillips, ‘Plague of locusts threatens Italian vineyards’, The Independent, 23 July 2005.
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