Valenza (Valensa in Piedmontese) is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) east of Turin and about 11 kilometres (7 mi) north of Alessandria.
A stronghold of the Ligures, it was conquered by the Romans in the 2nd century BC, and became a forum as Forum Fulvii Valentinum, having law jurisdiction and a market. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, most of the population moved from the hills of the previous settlement to live where the current town is. It was ravaged by the Burgundians and ruled by the Lombards. After the Frank conquest of northern Italy, it became part of the mark of Montferrat.
Overshadowed by the power of the nearby Alessandria, it attracted the attentions of Galeazzo I Visconti, duke of Milan, but his plot to capture the city failed. The Viscount were however able to conquer Valenza in 1370. Later the town was sacked by the French troops (1499 and 1515), reconquered by the Spaniards (1521) under Charles V (1521) and then again captured by the French (1523). However, in the latter year it was given back to Charles V. Again surrendered to the French in 1557, it finally was assigned to Spain in 1559 by the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis.
Valenza is a comune in Italy.
Valenza may also refer to:
Welcoming Party / This Is System
This is system for your life we exist
We'll take your mind and violently twist into
A shape so desperate you'll make us your life
And like your mother we will hold you so tight
And we'll grow off our pain constant aggression.
We're sedatives for your alteration
We'll drag you down for the rest of your life
And then the system succeeds
The day you have died
THIS IS SYSTEM
We welcome you child and we open our arms of greetings
We'll treat you just right and we'll change you inside and you'll see
That it's so necessary for you to accept
Or we'll strap you down 'til we gain your respect
You'll see it our way and you'll never question what we say
See me I am crying through eyes of pain!
Cold hearted system I cannot escape!
Much more comfortable now, much more relaxed, just slightly sedated
And when the lights go out, you will recall the pain that you've faded
And in the blackened pitch you hear the other guests screaming
And you can feel the horror of their hated dreams
We'll strap you down tight
Shocking your mind for screaming
You poor child with pain in your eyes
We never hear you cry
We'd like to think that you are someone's mistake
And so we lock you away
There's got to be some kind of end
A way out from under this horror
Something out there beyond the pain
That welcomes with comfort
We'll let you go this time and it's your mistake
You will miss our hate and desire our pain
And you will be back
Because they will not understand you
You feared man with the hate in your eyes
Looks like you don't mind dying
We'd like to think that you're a social mistake