Of later, but still prehistoric age, are the interesting rock engravings of the Valley of Wonders currently in French territory. In Roman times the testimonies become more numerous and safe.
The first inhabitants of the area were the Ligurian populations then subjugated by the Romans in their process of expansion towards Gaul. Cities of a certain importance such as Pollentia (Pollenzo), Alba Pompeia (Alba), Augusta Bagiennorum (Bene Vagienna) appear in documents of the Augustan age.
Alba was the birthplace, in 126 AD, of Publius Elvio Pertinace who was, for a brief period, in 193 AD Roman emperor. The presence of towers and castles in large quantities on the hills of the Granda, testifies to the importance of these lands during the Middle Ages. The Abbey of Staffarda is one of the most significant examples of the presence of Cistercian monks on the land of Saluzzo. The communal period is full of significant events and continuous struggles. New cities are born, while those already existing that try to escape the dominion of the feudal lords. The history of the province of Cuneo is then intertwined with that of the Savoy, lives the ideas of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, undergoes the Napoleon’s passage and witnesses his victories in the Italian campaign of 1796. Cherasco deserves the title of City of Peace, because it becomes the seat of important treaties.
After the unification of Italy, the province continued to be a protagonist of national history with some men who distinguished themselves in the political field such as Michele Coppino, to whom we owe the institution of the compulsory and free elementary school, and above all like Giovanni Giolitti for many years head of the government at the beginning of the century. The Granda then gave his contribution of blood in the two world wars that saw his “alpini” at the forefront of the Italian and European fronts.
The Resistance deserves a separate chapter, having had one of its nerve centres in the province of Cuneo. The Cuneo partisans have been in the front row in the fight against the Nazi-Fascists and the Granda cities have paid dearly for their choice, as witnessed by the massacres, the destructions, the ferocity with which Germans and fascists tried to prevent the people of Cuneo from regaining their freedom . The three gold medals attributed to Alba, Cuneo and Boves are proof of the heroism with which the people of the province fought against barbarism.