CUNEO

French Coni, city, capital of Cuneo provincia, Piemonte regione, northwestern Italy, on a plateau in the wedge (cuneo) formed by the confluence of the Stura di Demonte and Gesso rivers, south of Turin. Founded in 1198 by fugitives from baronial feuds and Lombard refugees after the destruction of Milan by Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, it later became the seat of a countship held by the house of Anjou, from 1259 until it was bought by the house of Savoy in 1382. Strongly fortified, Cuneo withstood seven sieges in the 16th18th century. It was ceded to France by the Armistice of Cherasco (1796) but was returned to Savoy in 1814. The old and modern cities are linked by the great Soleri viaduct over the Stura di Demonte. Notable landmarks include the Gothic cathedral (10th century, restored in the 18th and 19th), the Church of San Francesco (1227), the 18th-century town hall, and the 18th-century Audiffredi Palazzo, containing the civic museum. Cuneo is a rail junction and noted market for raw silk and chestnuts; its industries include food processing, distilling, metallurgy, and silk spinning. Pop. (1988 est.) mun., 55,807.