Stura

Stura was a département of the First French Empire in present Italy. It was named after the river Stura di Demonte. It was formed in 1802, when Napoleon Bonaparte occupied the mainland states of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Its capital was Cuneo. It was divided into the arrondissements of Cuneo, Alba, Mondovì, Saluzzo, and Savigliano. It was disbanded after the defeat of Napoleon in 1814. Its territory corresponds more or less with that of the present Italian province of Cuneo. The population was 431,438 inhabitants in 1806. The Treaty of Fontainebleau of April 11, 1814 ended the French possession. The Geographical Dictionary portable 1809 summarized the Department of Stura: Climate rough, hilly ground, stony, produces abundant fruit, nuts, mulberry, chestnut woods, pastures, some cattle, many horses, mules excellent, mines gold and silver, marble quarries, gold flakes in the rivers, mineral waters. Its inhabitants are simple, aggressive, small, agile, excellent foot: soft and laboring women. Great trade for Lyon silk, fruit, truffles, fodder, livestock, dairy, marble, limestone, few factories and mills.