There is archaeological evidence of human occupation of this area just before the hills in the Ancient Neolithic (6000-4750 B.C). Being far from the river, this area had a hydrogeological stability. In the passage from Neolithic to Copper Age (approximately 3.500 B.C) the situation changed: after a worsening of the climate – which became even more humid – the floods came in succession. In that period there was a distributary between the hills and the riverbed that was activated only with the most important periods of overflow. At that time the human occupation was limited to the part coming up to the edge of the river in the current San Cassiano quarter.

During the Bronze Age (2200-900 B.C) and the Iron Age (900-125 B.C), after a lowering of the riverbed, this secondary distributary was filled up by sediments that accumulated during the minor floods. This phenomenon gradually led to a generalized regularisation of the plain, more usable by the population.

  • Areal photo of the area between the rivers Tanaro and Cherasca
  • Schematic reconstruction of the subsoil of the Cherasca Valley
  • Schematic reconstruction of the subsoil of the Tanaro Valley