Bistagno

Bistagno
Comune di Bistagno
Rail station of Bistagno.
Rail station of Bistagno.
Coat of arms of Bistagno
Location of Bistagno
Map
Bistagno is located in Italy
Bistagno
Bistagno
Location of Bistagno in Italy
Bistagno is located in Piedmont
Bistagno
Bistagno
Bistagno (Piedmont)
Coordinates: 44°40′N 8°22′E / 44.667°N 8.367°E / 44.667; 8.367
CountryItaly
RegionPiedmont
ProvinceAlessandria (AL)
Government
 • MayorRoberto Vallegra
Area
 • Total
17.59 km2 (6.79 sq mi)
Elevation
175 m (574 ft)
Population
 (30 April 2017[2])[3]
 • Total
1,850
 • Density110/km2 (270/sq mi)
DemonymBistagnesi
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
15012
Dialing code0144
Patron saintSt. John the Baptist
Saint day24 June
WebsiteOfficial website

Bistagno is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 kilometres (43 mi) southeast of Turin and about 35 kilometres (22 mi) southwest of Alessandria.

Bistagno borders the following municipalities: Castelletto d'Erro, Melazzo, Monastero Bormida, Montabone, Ponti, Rocchetta Palafea, Sessame, and Terzo.

In the center of the village is the Giulio Monteverde Gipsothèque, which houses the sculptor's original plaster models.

Although the most common and widespread etymology for the toponym is connected with the confluence of two 'branches' of the Bormida river (the Spigno Bormida and the Millesimo Bormida) in the territory of Bistagno (Bistagno < bi + stagno, bi(s)- + pond, where 'pond' would not only indicate a stagnant body of water, but would be also connected with the root *agn- > Latin amnis, in the meaning of 'river', 'water course', 'stream', 'torrent'), a new etymology, based on linguistic evidence, connects Bistagno with *bĭst-ăgnŏ-s (Proto-Indo-European ~ Celtic), which would mean 'small pheasant', and would allude to the presence of this specific bird in the territory of the village in the Neolithic or, in any case, in prehistoric times.[4]

  1. ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. ^ All demographics and other statistics: Italian statistical institute Istat.
  3. ^ "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  4. ^ Francesco Perono Cacciafoco, The Origins of Naming Process: Toponymic Archaeology of Two Indo-European Place Names, in Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics, vol. 11, nº 21-22, 2016, pp. 64-65.