CHIERI, a town of Italy, in the province of Turin, and eight miles south-east of the city of that name, with which it is connected by a good camage road. It stands on the declivity of a hill, and is divided into two parts by a branch of the Tepice. Among its numerous churches aud convents, mention may be made of Santa Maria della Scala, which is one of the largest Gothic structures in Piedmont, and occupies, it is said, the site of an ancient temple of Minerva. The town also possesses a large number of benevolent and educational institutions and a theatre. It ranks as one of the oldest manufacturing centres in Europe, and still prosecutes the fabrication of silk, cotton, and woollen goods. The population is about 12,000. According to some investigators, Chieri is to be identified with the Roman city of Carrea Potentia ; but, be this as it may, it appears in history at an early period. In the 9th and 10th centuries it was subject to the bishop of Turin; in the 11th it became an independent republic; and in 1155 it was compelled by Barbarossa to recognize again the episcopal authority. In the following centuries it went through numerous vicissitudes of war and politics, but at the same time developed its industrial activity. About the middle, indeed, of the 15th century, no fewer than 100,000 pieces of cotton goods were annually manufactured. In 1551 the town was laid waste by the French. By Victor Emmanuel it was raised to the rank of a princedom; and Cibrario, the historian of North Italy, thought it worth his while to devote two volumes to the preservation of its annals, Belle Storie di Chien, Turin, 1827....