Pecetto di Valenza

Pecetto di Valenza (Apsèj) is a commune of the Province of Alessandria in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy with a population of 1282 (December 2008 estimate). It is south of the river Po, and about 8 km northeast of the provincial capital of Alessandria, on an eastern spur of the hills of the Basso Monferrato. The commune's neighbours are Alessandria, Bassignana, Montecastello, Pietra Marazzi, and Valenza.

The municipal boundaries enclose an area of 11.5 km2 that ranges in elevation from 85 to 261 m above sea level and is predominantly agricultural in character: the economy is largely based on the cultivation of cereals and grapes. Four distinct settlements are identified in the Statuto comunale as "historically recognised by the community"; these were also the four designated places for the 2001 census. Pecetto di Valenza itself, which stands at 212 m above sea level and is the capoluogo of the commune, was the most populous with 499 of the commune's 1,312 inhabitants. Pellizzari, at 407 m, had a population of 120. Gasperini, at 192 m, had 30 inhabitants and Molina, at 171 m, 16. A further 360 residents, 27 percent of the total, were counted in isolated dwellings such as farmhouses.

Notable people

 * Giuseppe Borsalino, who gave his name to the Borsalino hat-making company which he developed in Alessandria, was born in Pecetto di Valenza in 1834.