# Cortanze > comune in Piedmont, Italy **Wikidata**: [Q17803](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17803) **Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortanze) **Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/cortanze ## Summary Cortanze is a comune (municipality) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, situated within the Province of Asti. It is one of the administrative divisions of Italy and represents a small rural community in the Italian peninsula. The municipality covers a geographic area in the Astigiano territory and serves as a local administrative unit within the broader framework of Italian regional governance. ## Key Facts - **Official Name:** Cortanze - **Region:** Piedmont (Piemonte), Italy - **Province:** Province of Asti - **Country:** Italy - **Classification:** Comune — municipal division of Italy - **Geographic Coordinates:** Latitude 45.015277777778°, Longitude 8.0891666666667° - **Population:** 274 inhabitants (one census), 277 inhabitants (another census), 261 inhabitants (third census) - **Website:** http://www.comune.cortanze.at.it/ - **Wikipedia Title:** Cortanze - **Wikidata Description:** comune in Piedmont, Italy - **Sitelink Count:** 52 (indicating moderate cross-language Wikipedia coverage) ## FAQs **Where is Cortanze located?** Cortanze is a comune in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, specifically within the Province of Asti. It is situated at coordinates 45.015277777778° N latitude and 8.0891666666667° E longitude, placing it in the Astigiano territory of Piedmont. **What type of administrative entity is Cortanze?** Cortanze is a comune, which is the fundamental administrative division in Italy analogous to a municipality or town. It operates as a local government unit within the Province of Asti and the broader Piedmont region. **How many people live in Cortanze?** The population of Cortanze has been recorded at varying figures across different census periods: 274, 277, and 261 inhabitants. These figures indicate a small rural community typical of many Italian comuni in the Piedmontese countryside. **What is the relationship between Cortanze and the Province of Asti?** Cortanze is administratively subordinate to the Province of Asti, which is one of the eight provinces of the Piedmont region in northwestern Italy. The Province of Asti itself is a province of Italy with sitelink count of 81. **What is the broader regional and national context of Cortanze?** Cortanze is part of Piedmont (Piemonte), one of the 20 regions of Italy. Italy is a sovereign state and parliamentary republic located in Southern Europe, officially known as the Italian Republic. Italy is a founding member of the European Union and utilizes the euro as its currency. ## Why It Matters Cortanze represents the foundational unit of local governance in Italy, embodying the decentralized administrative structure that characterizes Italian civic organization. As a comune, it serves as the primary point of contact between citizens and governmental services, managing local affairs including urban planning, public utilities, local taxation, and community services. The existence of thousands of comuni like Cortanze throughout Italy forms the backbone of the country's municipal administration system, allowing for localized governance tailored to the needs of individual communities. For researchers and those studying Italian administrative geography, comuni such as Cortanze provide insight into how rural communities maintain their identity and administrative autonomy within the larger regional and national framework. The population figures indicate that Cortanze represents the type of small, historic comuni that contribute to Italy's distinctive patchwork of local governance units, each with its own history, traditions, and administrative character. ## Notable For - **Municipal Administration:** Serves as a functioning comune within the Italian administrative system - **Piedmontese Location:** Situated in the renowned wine-producing region of Piedmont, known for Asti spumante and Barbera wines - **Historic Comune Status:** Represents the traditional Italian municipal division system dating back centuries - **Rural Character:** Maintains the characteristics of a small Italian rural community - **Cross-Language Coverage:** Has a sitelink count of 52, indicating presence in over 50 language editions of Wikipedia ## Body ### Geography and Location Cortanze is geographically positioned at latitude 45.015277777778° north and longitude 8.0891666666667° east. This location places it in the heart of the Piedmontese plain region, within the territory historically associated with the Province of Asti. The municipality's position in northwestern Italy places it within reasonable proximity to other major Piedmontese cities including Asti itself, Turin (the regional capital), and Alessandria. The terrain of the Cortanze area, like much of the Astigiano, consists primarily of agricultural plains and gentle hills that characterize the winemaking regions of southern Piedmont. ### Administrative Structure As a comune of Italy, Cortanze operates under the administrative framework that defines Italian municipal governance. The comune represents the smallest administrative division in Italy with direct electoral representation. Each comune has its own mayor (sindaco) and council (consiglio comunale) that manage local affairs. Cortanze falls under the jurisdiction of the Province of Asti, which itself is one of the eight provinces of the Piedmont region. The Province of Asti serves as an intermediate level of governance between the regional government and the individual comuni. Italy itself is divided into 20 regions, with Piedmont being one of the northwestern regions, and is further subdivided into provinces and comuni. ### Demographics and Population The population data for Cortanze shows figures of 274, 277, and 261 inhabitants across different census periods. These numbers are consistent with the profile of a small Italian comune, typical of the rural communities that dot the Piedmontese landscape. The relatively modest population places Cortanze among the smaller municipalities in the Province of Asti, reflecting the pattern of population distribution in this part of Italy where many comuni have populations under 1,000 residents. The population fluctuations recorded may reflect natural demographic changes, migration patterns, or differing census methodologies across years. ### Regional Context: Piedmont Cortanze is located in Piedmont (Piemonte), one of Italy's 20 regions. Piedmont is bordered by France and Switzerland to the west and north, and by the regions of Lombardy, Liguria, and Emilia-Romagna. The region is renowned for its wine production, including the famous Asti spumante, Barbera d'Asti, and Moscato d'Asti. The regional capital is Turin (Torino), which was also the first capital of unified Italy from 1861 to 1865. Piedmont played a significant role in the Italian unification movement (Risorgimento), and the region maintains strong economic ties with France and Switzerland due to its geographic position. ### National Context: Italy As part of Italy, Cortanze exists within the framework of the Italian Republic, a sovereign state and parliamentary republic located in Southern Europe. Italy was established as a unified kingdom on March 17, 1861, and transitioned to a republic on June 18, 1946, following a constitutional referendum. The country is a founding member of the European Union, adopting the euro as its currency in 2002. Italy comprises 20 regions, including Piedmont, and is divided into 110 provinces plus autonomous provinces. The country covers an area of approximately 302,068 square kilometers and has a population of approximately 58.85 million people. Italy holds the distinction of having the highest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the world. ### Administrative Classification Cortanze is classified as a comune, which represents the basic territorial subdivision in Italy. The term "comune" translates roughly to "municipality" or "commune" in English and refers to a local administrative unit with defined boundaries and local government. There are approximately 7,904 comuni in Italy, each varying in size from large cities like Rome (with over 2.8 million inhabitants) to small rural municipalities like Cortanze. The comune system in Italy dates back to the unification period, though similar administrative divisions existed under the Napoleonic system and earlier. Each comune has its own statute, council, executive, and administrative apparatus. ### Digital Presence and Information Access Cortanze maintains an official website at http://www.comune.cortanze.at.it/, providing a digital presence for the municipality. The entity has a Wikipedia article with a sitelink count of 52, indicating that the article is available in 52 different language editions of Wikipedia. The Wikipedia title is simply "Cortanze," and the Wikidata description identifies it as "comune in Piedmont, Italy." This digital presence facilitates access to information about the municipality for both residents and external researchers. ### Relationship to Related Entities Cortanze exists within a hierarchy of administrative and geographic relationships. At the local level, it is connected to the Province of Asti, which has a sitelink count of 81. At the national level, it is connected to Italy, which has a significantly larger sitelink count of 404, reflecting its status as a sovereign nation. The entity is also related to the broader concept of "comune of Italy", which represents the category of municipal divisions in Italy. This hierarchical structure—from local municipality to province to region to nation—illustrates how Cortanze fits into Italy's administrative taxonomy. ### Historical and Cultural Context While specific historical details about Cortanze are not provided in the source material, the comune exists within a region rich in Italian history. Piedmont was a central stage for the Risorgimento, the Italian unification movement, and the region maintained significant cultural ties with neighboring France and Switzerland. The Province of Asti itself has medieval origins, and the city of Asti was historically an important Roman settlement and later a free commune in the medieval period. The pattern of small rural comuni like Cortanze scattered throughout the Piedmontese countryside reflects the agricultural heritage of the region and the historical development of local governance in northern Italy. ## References 1. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013 2. Italian National Institute of Statistics 3. [Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018. Italian National Institute of Statistics](http://demo.istat.it/pop2018/index3.html) 4. [Source](https://demo.istat.it/?l=it) 5. Flickr Shapefiles Public Dataset 2.0 6. GeoNames 7. [Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011. Italian National Institute of Statistics](https://www.istat.it/it/archivio/156224) 8. Wiki Loves Monuments Italia 9. Seismic classification in Italy 10. [Source](https://rischi.protezionecivile.gov.it/it/sismico/attivita/classificazione-sismica)