Italian Notes
  • HOME
  • PEOPLE & PLACES
    • Abruzzo
    • Basilicata
    • Calabria
    • Campania
    • Emilia-Romagna
    • Friuli-Venezia Giulia
    • Lazio
    • Liguria
    • Lombardia-Lombardy
    • Marche
    • Molise
    • Piemonte-Piedmont
    • Puglia – Apulia
    • Sicilia
    • Toscana-Tuscany
    • Trentino-Alto Adige – Trentino-South Tyrol
    • Umbria
    • Veneto
  • FOOD
    • Antipasti
    • Primi piatti
    • Secondi piatti
    • Dolci
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

Grazzano Badoglio – A village in Monferrato

You are here: Home1 / Piemonte2 / Asti3 / Grazzano Badoglio – A village in Monferrato

Grazzano Badoglio

A village in Monferrato Italy



Booking.com


We dropped into Grazzano Badoglio in Monferrato as an instance of pure serendipity. The tiny village halfway between Asti and Casale Monferrato in Piedmont looked more or less deserted in the winter sun. If the place really has a population of 615 souls, they sure weren’t at home this morning. Even the butcher’s Macelleria remained closed.

A controversial hero

Still, we could not resist the temptation of a quick look around, and fell over a plaque commemorating Pietro Badoglio.  Pietro Badoglio was born in Grazzano in 1871. He served as an Italian general in both World Wars. And he became Prime Minister of Italy in 1943, when Mussolini was removed from power.

In spite of the credentials, Badoglio was a controversial hero. Various sources blame him for the disasterous Battle of Caporetto in 1917 and the brutal invasion of Ethiopia in 1935, where he authorized the use of mustard gas against the Ethiopian army.

Monferrato Italy

Pictures from Grazzano Badoglio in the Monferrato part of Piedmont.

After WWII Pietro Badaglio could well have been tried for war crimes, but the Allied Forces appreciated his role in the aftermath of fascism, and in 1947 he retired to his home village.

The family home

The village had changed its name from Grazzano Monferrato to Grazzano Badoglio in honour of the military leader in 1939. And in 1937 the family home had been converted into an asylum for young children. This was where Badoglio’s life started and ended, and today it is supposed to be a museum.

We sneaked a look into the yard without seeing any signs or people indicating that the place might be open to the public. Pietro Badoglio only gets a cursory mention under Grazzano in the Italian Wikipedia, so perhaps his importance and reputation is fading along with the otherwise charming hilltop village.

Grazzano Badoglio in Piedmont

The quiet centre of Grazzano Badoglio

More on Piedmont

Romantic getaway from which you can explore the best of Asti

Maison Massena’s Cooking school in Turin

The wine museum in Barolo

Chocolate hazelnut cake

Five free things to do in Turin

8 replies
  1. TheTuscan
    TheTuscan says:
    January 10, 2013 at 11:29 am

    In Italy Badoglio is almost a synonymous for coward.

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      January 10, 2013 at 11:57 am

      So that explains the lack of wiki references:)

      Reply
  2. Roberta Kedzierski
    Roberta Kedzierski says:
    January 10, 2013 at 12:31 pm

    Interesting piece, esp the reference to towns in Italy changing their names thanks to “local boys” (girls?) making good. As in the case of Arqua Petrarca, nr Padua, or Castagneto Carducci in Tuscany.

    One thing, the “asilo” in question is not an “asylum” but a kindergarten, surely? asilo nido, as the Istituto Luce newsreel states. In English, an “asylum” is/was only for the insane.

    Buona continuazione!

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      January 10, 2013 at 1:38 pm

      Yes, there were quite a lot of those towns changing names in the 1930s. Sasso Marconi might also be added. And you are right. It surely was not an asylum for the mentally ill. Still, I don’t think they had kindergartens in the 1930s either. I thought the word could also be used in reference to orphan asylums.

      Reply
  3. Sophie
    Sophie says:
    January 10, 2013 at 12:59 pm

    Must admit I’ve never heard of Badoglio, so this was interesting. Italian prime ministers… at least, they’re not boring :)

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      January 10, 2013 at 1:47 pm

      So right – and they have quite a lot of former PMs to chose from, too.

      Reply
  4. Mary {The World Is A Book}
    Mary {The World Is A Book} says:
    January 11, 2013 at 8:24 am

    This was such an interesting read. I admit I only know Mussolini so this was over my head. How interesting that the town seemed empty and you had it to yourselves.

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      January 11, 2013 at 8:58 am

      These towns are so small they hardly qualify as more than a collection of houses. And most of the people probably have to commute to work.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Followon XSubscribeto RSS Feed
Discover Rome - Italian Notes

Discover Rome

Discover Florence - Italian Notes

Discover Florence

Discover Venice - Italian Notes

Discover Venice

Discover Puglia - Italian Notes

Discover Puglia

Discover Sicily - Italian Notes

Discover Sicily

Discover Piedmont - Italian Notes

Discover Piedmont

© Copyright - Italian Notes - Enfold Theme by Kriesi
Cranberry cakeMake sauerkraut - Italian NotesMake sauerkraut – sour cabbage
Scroll to top