Discover Pollenzo

Pollenzo — Polèns in Piedmontese — is a frazione of the comune of Bra, in the province of Cuneo. Bra has 29,466 residents across 59.53 square kilometres, and Pollenzo lies inside its boundaries.

Ancient Pollenzo was Pollentia, the Roman city already cited by Pliny the Elder, founded in the 2nd century BC.

In 402 Pollentia was the theatre of the battle of Pollenzo, in which the troops of the Visigoths commanded by Alaric were defeated near the city by the Roman general Stilicho and obliged to withdraw into Illyria.

The village as it now stands is a Savoy creation. The King of Sardinia, Carlo Alberto di Savoia, promoted a great transformation of the borgo of Pollenzo and of its castle between 1832 and 1848, with the aim of creating a model estate for experiment in and improvement of agricultural and oenological activity.

The name carried a royal title into the 20th century: Vittorio Emanuele III, King of Italy, after abdicating on 9 May 1946, took the title of Conte di Pollenzo.

And since 2004 the Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche has had its seat at the Agenzia di Pollenzo, co-founded by Slow Food with the regions of Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna.

The architecture of Pollenzo is almost entirely one campaign, and it has an agricultural brief rather than a courtly one.

Between 1832 and 1848, Carlo Alberto di Savoia transformed the borgo and the castle together. The stated objective was a podere modello — a model estate for experimentation and the improvement of agricultural and oenological activities — which explains why the village reads as a planned ensemble rather than an accretion.

The Agenzia is the working heart of that scheme, and its adaptive reuse is the latest layer: a 19th-century agricultural complex now serving as a university campus since 2004.

Beneath it all lies the Roman city, founded in the 2nd century BC. The Savoy village sits on Pollentia, which is why the place has a Roman name and a 19th-century face.

Pollenzo was built twice, by two very different kinds of authority.

The Romans founded a city here in the 2nd century BC. It was substantial enough to be named by Pliny the Elder and significant enough that a field battle of 402 is known by its name.

A king rebuilt the village. Between 1832 and 1848, Carlo Alberto promoted the transformation of the borgo and the castle — a sixteen-year programme with a purpose stated in agricultural rather than architectural terms: a model estate for experimentation and improvement in farming and winemaking.

Then it was given a new use rather than new buildings. In 2004 the Agenzia became the seat of the Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche, co-founded by Slow Food with the Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna regions. A 19th-century agricultural estate became a 21st-century university without being replaced — which is, in its way, exactly what Carlo Alberto built it for.

What happened here in 402? The battle of Pollenzo: the Visigoths commanded by Alaric were defeated near the city by the Roman general Stilicho and forced to withdraw into Illyria.

How old is the place? The Roman city of Pollentia was founded in the 2nd century BC and was already cited by Pliny the Elder.

Why does the village look 19th-century? Because it largely is. Carlo Alberto di Savoia, King of Sardinia, promoted a great transformation of the borgo and the castle between 1832 and 1848 to create a model agricultural and winemaking estate.

What is the Agenzia? The complex that has been the seat of the Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche since 2004, co-founded by Slow Food with the Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna regions.

Can I visit the university? It is a working institution, not an attraction. No visiting arrangements are published.

Why is a king called Count of Pollenzo? Vittorio Emanuele III, after abdicating on 9 May 1946, assumed the title of Conte di Pollenzo.

Can I see the battlefield? No site is identified in the record. The battle was fought near the city, and the Roman city itself lies under the modern village.