town and episcopal see, Piemonte ( Piedmont) regione, northwestern Italy, on the Scrivia River, east of the city of Alessandria. Founded by the Ligurians, it became a Roman colony in 148 BC. A Guelf stronghold in the Middle Ages, it was destroyed by the emperor Frederick I Barbarossa in 1155. It fell to the Milanese Visconti family in 1347 and passed to Savoy in 1738. Notable landmarks include the cathedral (1584), the church of Santa Maria Canali (9th century, rebuilt 13th), the ruins of the castle dismantled by Napoleon I in 1801, and the Roman Museum, with Roman relics. The centre of an agricultural region, Tortona is a rail junction and produces textiles, machinery, and wine. Pop. (2006 est.) mun., 26,684.