Cerrina Monferrato (population about 1,600) is a commune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 40 km east of Turin and about 40 km northwest of Alessandria. Its municipal borders enclose an area of 17.3 km2 ranging in elevation from 158 to 422 m above sea level. The commune borders Gabiano to the north, Mombello Monferrato to the east, Castelletto Merli and Odalengo Piccolo to the south, and Odalengo Grande and Villamiroglio to the west. The two principal population centres are Valle Cerrina which had a population of 583 at the time of the 2001 census, and Cerrina itself, the historic centre and capoluogo which had a population of 353. Montalero (pop. 35) and Rosingo (pop. 261) were both communes in their own right until 1928. The other settlements include Montaldo, Piancerreto and Gaminella: although the last lies mostly within the commune of Mombello Monferrato.

History

In 2005 Cerrina was the centre of swarms of locusts or grasshoppers (the local Calliptamus italicus) which, unprecedented in their magnitude and moving at speeds of up to 55 km/h, threatened the vineyards of Monferrato and the province of Asti.