Alessandria

Alessandria (Italian: [alesˈsandrja] ; Piedmontese: Lissandria [liˈsɑŋdrja]) is a city and comune (municipality) in the region of Piedmont in Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. With a population of 93,409, it is the 3rd-largest city in Piedmont and the 53rd-largest in Italy. Known for the famous hat manufacturing company Borsalino and for its proximity to the historical site of the battle of Marengo, led by Napoleon, the town is an important agricultural, industrial and logistic hub within its region and Italy's North-West. With a surface extension that makes it Piedmont's largest municipality and a population of 92,839 inhabitants (the third most populous city in the region), Alessandria is located in the centre of the so-called "industrial triangle", whose vertices are Turin, Milan and Genoa. Alessandria is also home to one of the headquarters of the University of Eastern Piedmont, which is an academic institution that has a tripolar structure shared with Vercelli and Novara.