Mondovì, Diocese of. — A diocese and city in Piedmont. The diocese comprises 181 parishes (84 communes: 70 in the province of Cuneo and 14 in the province of Savona). Priests: 396, of whom 50 are religious; 10 male and 107 female religious houses. Population: 164,000; area: 2,159.65 sq. km. It borders on the dioceses of Cuneo, Fossano, Alba, Acqui, Savona, Albenga, and Ventimiglia. It has a major and a minor seminary. Patron saint: St. Donatus, Bishop of Arezzo (feast: 7 August).
Mondovì, of communal origin, was erected into a diocese, almost as a bulwark of Romanity against the Western Schism, by Urban VI with the bull *Salvator Noster*, dated Perugia, 8 June 1388. At the same time the Pope conferred upon it the title of city. The new diocese was carved out of that of Asti and made a suffragan of Milan. In 1515, with the elevation of Turin to metropolitan status, it passed to that ecclesiastical province. Subsequently it underwent territorial changes: in 1768 it received additional parishes from Asti and Alba; later it was reduced in size by the establishment of the diocese of Cuneo (1817), but it gained extensive areas from Alba. The bishop bears the title of Count and is perpetual commendatory abbot of St. Dalmatius. The Church of Mondovì has produced notable figures in its history, such as: Cardinal Michele Ghisleri (St. Pius V); Cardinal Vincenzo Laureo (1566–1587); Michele Casati (1753–82), noted for the catechism named after him; and Tomaso Ghilardi (1843–73), a staunch defender of the rights of the Church.
Among Mondovines worthy of mention are: BON (v.); the physicist G. B. Beccaria (v.) and his pupil Giovanni Francesco Cigna; the statesman Vincenzo Ferrero, Marquis of Ormea (1680–1745); the Venerable G. B. Trona (1682–1750); Rosa Govone (1716–1776), founder of the Istituto delle Rosine; the Abbé Domenico Soresi (1711–1788), man of letters and educator; the architect Francesco Gallo (1672–1750), who built many churches in Piedmont inspired by his restrained Baroque style; and finally several figures and artists of the last century. In 1809 Mondovì hosted the exiled Pius VII, who left moving testimonies of his stay.
Roman remains are scarce in the Mondovì area (notable are the ruins of *Augusta Bagiennorum* near Benevagienna); medieval buildings are more frequent; fourteenth-century paintings abound, especially in rural chapels. The finest architectural works date from the eighteenth century.
Mondovì stands in a dominant position, surrounded by the Langhe hills, the plain, and the Alpine chain. It is divided into two parts: in the upper part (Piazza) are to be seen: the Bressani tower and the Belvedere; the cathedral by F. Gallo; the episcopal palace, with its magnificent halls; the church of the Mission, formerly S. Francesco Saverio, by Giovenale Boetto, with paintings by Andrea Pozzo depicting the preaching and glory of the Saint; the Jesuit palace (now the Tribunal); S. Chiara, the Misericordia (F. Gallo), and the Piazza Maggiore, with its arcades, still medieval in character. The lower part (i Piani), more commercial in nature, also has some noteworthy buildings: S. Filippo, by F. Gallo; SS. Peter and Paul (dome by Vittone and façade with the characteristic "Moor"). In the fifteenth century the city had one of the earliest printing presses; from 1560 it was the seat of a university where St. Robert Bellarmine taught; it has since maintained a strong tradition of learning and education. It possesses two libraries (the seminary’s and the civic one) and various archives. A notable local historian at the close of the eighteenth century was the canon G. Grassi of S. Cristina. Mondovì takes pride in numerous charitable institutions and varied philanthropic initiatives.
The religious history of the city in recent centuries is linked to the famous sanctuary, built around a venerated image of the Virgin by Ascanio Vicozzi (begun in 1586) and completed by Gallo (1729–33) with a large elliptical dome. In the vast pictorial field, M. Bortoloni (1696–1750), who succeeded S. Galeotti, painted the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, while F. Biella, follower of G. Galli Bibiena, executed the decorative framework. The diocese contains other numerous and venerated Marian shrines, and there is no lack of artistically distinguished churches.