Editing Asti (section)

=== French and Savoyard domination ===
With the exception of several brief periods under Visconti, Montferrat and [[Sforza]] rule, Asti remained under Valois control; it eventually became a direct subject of the [[France|French Crown]]. The situation changed in the early 16th century, during the wars between [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] and [[Francis I of France]]. In 1526 it was besieged in vain by Charles' condottiero [[Fabrizio Maramaldo]]. Three years later, Asti was conveyed as a result of the [[Treaty of Cambrai]] to the Holy Roman Empire by which it was ruled until 1531 when Emperor Charles V gave the territory as a fiefdom to his cousin [[Beatrice of Portugal, Duchess of Savoy]]. Later at the time of Beatrice's death in 1538, Asti was inherited by her son and included on the Savoys' heritage. 

Asti was one of the main Savoyard strongholds in later wars. In 1616, besieged by the Spanish governor of Milan, it was defended by Duke [[Charles Emmanuel I]] himself. In 1630–31, the city suffered a high mortality rate from an outbreak of the [[Plague (disease)|plague]]. Some years later Asti was conquered by the Spanish, although Savoy regained the city in 1643. Another unsuccessful Spanish siege occurred in 1650. In November 1703, during the [[War of Spanish Succession]], Asti fell to France again; it was reconquered in 1705 by [[Victor Amadeus II of Savoy|Victor Amadeus II]]. In 1745 French troops invaded the city once more, but it was liberated the following year.

[[File:Asti Cathedral.jpg|thumb|The cathedral of Asti]]
[[File:Asti Antonio Bignoli 1857.jpg|thumb|right|View of Asti and the Collegiata di San Secondo – Antonio Bignoli 1857.]]
In 1797 the Astigiani, enraged by the continuous military campaigns and by their resulting poor economic situation, revolted against the Savoyard government. On July 28 the Repubblica Astese was declared. However, it was suppressed only two days later. The revolutionary chiefs were arrested and executed. The following year the Savoyards were expelled from Piedmont by the [[napoleonic Wars|French revolutionary army]], and Asti was occupied by general Montrichard. After a short reversal, the French returned after the victory at [[battle of Marengo|Marengo]] (1800) near to Alessandra. [[Napoleon]] himself visited Asti on 29 April 1805, but was received rather coldly by the citizens. The city was demoted and incorporated with Alessandra under the department of Marengo. After the end of the French empire, Asti returned to [[Piedmont]] in 1814; the city followed Piedmontese history until the unification of Italy in 1861.